Virginia Layoffs — December 2014

Employers in Virginia recorded 4 WARN Act notices in December 2014, covering approximately 470 workers — marking a sharp increase from November and up 118% versus December 2013. The average filing covered 118 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

Industry	Notices	Workers
Utilities	2	320
Mining & Energy	1	85

The Utilities sector accounted for the largest share of job cuts with 320 workers across 2 notices. At the same time, Mining & Energy reported 85 workers.

Geographic Hotspots

County	Notices	Workers
Buchanan	3	405
Loudoun	1	65

Buchanan bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 86% of all affected workers with 405 workers across 3 notices.

City	Notices	Workers
Oakwood	2	320
Hurley	1	85
Sterling	1	65

Layoff Type Analysis

Type	Notices	Workers
Closure	2	320
Layoff	2	150

The high proportion of closures (68% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Virginia's labor market.

Largest Layoffs

Company	City	Workers	Type	Date
SunCoke Energy Inc	Oakwood	160	Closure	2014-12-15
SunCoke Energy, Inc	Oakwood	160	Closure	2014-12-15
TECO Coal Corporation	Hurley	85	Layoff	2014-12-30
Harris IT Services	Sterling	65	Layoff	2014-12-22

Leading the list was SunCoke Energy Inc at its Oakwood facility, reporting 160 affected workers. SunCoke Energy, Inc followed with 160 workers.

Trend & Outlook

After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.

The filings reflect mounting pressure on the Virginia labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Utilities sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.

This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Virginia. 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 Virginia WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.