Employers in Washington posted 4 WARN Act notices in December 2014, affecting an estimated 542 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to November and up 803% versus December 2013. The average filing covered 136 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 1 | 264 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 15 |
The Transportation sector saw the heaviest impact with 264 workers across 1 notice. On a related front, Healthcare reported 15 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| King | 2 | 279 |
| Franklin | 1 | 180 |
King was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 51% of all affected workers with 279 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | 2 | 279 |
| Pasco | 1 | 180 |
| Puget Sound | 1 | 83 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 2 | 279 |
| Layoff | 2 | 263 |
The high proportion of closures (51% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Washington's labor market.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | Seattle | 264 | Closure | 2014-12-01 |
| Swiift Transportation | Pasco | 180 | Layoff | 2014-12-01 |
| Boeing | Puget Sound | 83 | Layoff | 2014-12-02 |
| Group Health | Seattle | 15 | Closure | 2014-12-29 |
The largest notice was filed by United Airlines at its Seattle facility, reporting 264 affected workers. Swiift Transportation followed with 180 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Washington labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Transportation sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Washington. 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 Washington WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.
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