Tennessee Layoffs — January 2016
Employers in Tennessee filed 8 WARN Act notices in January 2016, impacting roughly 1,022 workers — representing a notable rise over December and up 45% versus January 2015. The average filing covered 128 workers, with 6 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Information & Technology | 1 | 457 |
| Retail | 2 | 197 |
| Finance & Insurance | 3 | 193 |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 175 |
The Information & Technology sector led the way in workforce reductions with 457 workers across 1 notice. In a parallel development, Retail reported 197 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Sullivan | 1 | 457 |
| Davidson | 2 | 170 |
| Williamson | 1 | 128 |
| Shelby | 1 | 109 |
| Jackson | 1 | 93 |
Sullivan was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 45% of all affected workers with 457 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Blountville | 1 | 457 |
| Nashville | 2 | 170 |
| Brentwood | 1 | 128 |
| Memphis | 1 | 109 |
| Gainesboro | 1 | 93 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 2 | 585 |
| Closure | 6 | 437 |
Closures accounted for 43% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sprint | Blountville | 457 | Layoff | |
| American General (AIG) | Brentwood | 128 | Layoff | |
| Sears Roebuck and Co., Full Line Store, Auto Center | Memphis | 109 | Closure | |
| Eaton | Gainesboro | 93 | Closure | |
| Walmart | Nashville | 88 | Closure | |
| Oberto Brands | Nashville | 82 | Closure | |
| AIG Financial Services | Knoxville | 40 | Closure | |
| AIG Financial Network ( Chattanooga) | Chattanooga | 25 | Closure |
The single largest action involved Sprint at its Blountville facility, reporting 457 affected workers. American General (AIG) followed with 128 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 Information & Technology 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.