Employers in Washington recorded 9 WARN Act notices in January 2015, covering approximately 1,032 workers — marking a sharp increase from December and up 805% versus January 2014. The average filing covered 115 workers, with 3 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 3 | 346 |
| Accommodation & Food | 2 | 186 |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 178 |
The Transportation sector accounted for the largest share of job cuts with 346 workers across 3 notices. At the same time, Accommodation & Food reported 186 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| King | 5 | 532 |
| Franklin | 1 | 180 |
| Lewis | 2 | 178 |
| Clark | 1 | 142 |
King absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 52% of all affected workers with 532 workers across 5 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | 3 | 346 |
| Kent | 2 | 186 |
| Pasco | 1 | 180 |
| Chehalis | 2 | 178 |
| Vancouver | 1 | 142 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 3 | 223 |
Closures accounted for 22% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | Seattle | 264 | 2015-01-30 | |
| Swiift Transportation | Pasco | 180 | 2015-01-30 | |
| Nordstrom | Vancouver | 142 | 2015-01-10 | |
| Great American Casino | Kent | 93 | Closure | 2015-01-26 |
| Great American Casino | Kent | 93 | 2015-01-26 | |
| Bradken Foundry | Chehalis | 89 | Closure | 2015-01-15 |
| Bradken Foundry | Chehalis | 89 | 2015-01-15 | |
| United Airlines | Seattle | 41 | Closure | 2015-01-07 |
| United Airlines | Seattle | 41 | 2015-01-07 |
Leading the list was United Airlines at its Seattle facility, reporting 264 affected workers. Swiift Transportation followed with 180 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The filings reflect 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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