Tennessee Layoffs — May 2012
Employers in Tennessee filed 15 WARN Act notices in May 2012, impacting roughly 1,284 workers — representing a notable rise over April. The average filing covered 86 workers, with 6 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 5 | 493 |
| Healthcare | 2 | 229 |
| Agriculture | 1 | 200 |
| Retail | 2 | 141 |
| Construction | 1 | 90 |
| Education | 1 | 70 |
| Government | 2 | 32 |
| Transportation | 1 | 29 |
The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 493 workers across 5 notices. In a parallel development, Healthcare reported 229 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Loudon | 1 | 222 |
| Scott | 1 | 220 |
| Obion | 1 | 200 |
| Rutherford | 4 | 170 |
| Shelby | 3 | 155 |
Loudon absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 17% of all affected workers with 222 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Lenoir City | 1 | 222 |
| Oneida | 1 | 220 |
| South Fulton | 1 | 200 |
| Memphis | 3 | 155 |
| Smyrna | 3 | 154 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 6 | 928 |
| Layoff | 8 | 334 |
The high proportion of closures (72% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Tennessee's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yale Locks & Hardware | Lenoir City | 222 | Closure | |
| Scott County Hospital | Oneida | 220 | Closure | |
| Ferry-Morse Seed | South Fulton | 200 | Closure | |
| Dillard's Fulfillment Center | Nashville | 125 | Closure | |
| MI Windows and Doors | Smyrna | 103 | Layoff | |
| Briggs Plumbing Products | Knoxville | 90 | Closure | |
| Dalphis America | Memphis | 75 | Layoff | |
| Pilgrim's | Chattanooga | 71 | Closure | |
| Memphis City Schools | Memphis | 70 | Layoff | |
| Menlo Worldwide Logistics | Smyrna | 29 | Layoff | |
| Town of Smyrna | Smyrna | 22 | Layoff | |
| Cummins Filtration | Cookeville | 22 | ||
| Rose's Department Store | Murfreesboro | 16 | Layoff | |
| Metropolitan Inter-Faith Assn | Memphis | 10 | Layoff | |
| Annand Clinic | Hohenwald | 9 | Layoff |
The single largest action involved Yale Locks & Hardware at its Lenoir City facility, reporting 222 affected workers. Scott County Hospital followed with 220 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The data underscores mounting pressure on the Tennessee labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Manufacturing sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Tennessee. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers with 100+ employees to provide 60-day advance notice of mass layoffs and plant closings. Data is updated daily by WARN Firehose. View all Tennessee WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.