Employers in West Virginia filed 7 WARN Act notices in January 2016, impacting roughly 1,570 workers — representing a notable rise over December. The average filing covered 224 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Mining & Energy | 4 | 1,212 |
| Retail | 1 | 140 |
| Utilities | 1 | 97 |
The Mining & Energy sector led the way in workforce reductions with 1,212 workers across 4 notices. In a parallel development, Retail reported 140 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Boone | 2 | 986 |
| Kanawha | 1 | 146 |
| McDowell | 1 | 140 |
| Cabell | 1 | 121 |
| Lewis | 1 | 97 |
Boone bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 63% of all affected workers with 986 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Whitesville | 2 | 986 |
| Ecksdale | 1 | 146 |
| Kimball | 1 | 140 |
| Gilbert | 1 | 80 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 5 | 1,309 |
| Closure | 2 | 261 |
Closures accounted for 17% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha Natural Resources Marfork Coal Company and Maxxim Shared Services Brushy Eagle Horse Creek Eagle Coon Cedar Grove Mine Slip Ridge Cedar Grove Mine Allen Powellton Marfork Processing | Whitesville | 508 | Layoff | 2016-01-25 |
| Alpha Natural Resources Elk Run Coal Company and Maxxim Shared Services Roundbottom Powellton Deep Mine Hunter Peerless Mine, Seng Creek Powellton, Chess Processing | Whitesville | 478 | Layoff | 2016-01-25 |
| Blackhawk Mining, LLC Panther Creek Mining, LLC | Ecksdale | 146 | Layoff | 2016-01-11 |
| Walmart Store 3811 | Kimball | 140 | Closure | 2016-01-15 |
| CSX Transportation Huntington Division Headquarters | 121 | Closure | 2016-01-19 | |
| Southwestern Energy Company | 97 | Layoff | 2016-01-21 | |
| Blackhawk Mining, LLC Hamppden Coal, LLC Hampden #2 Mine Hampden Prep Plant | Gilbert | 80 | Layoff | 2016-01-11 |
The single largest action involved Alpha Natural Resources Marfork Coal Company and Maxxim Shared Services Brushy Eagle Horse Creek Eagle Coon Cedar Grove Mine Slip Ridge Cedar Grove Mine Allen Powellton Marfork Processing at its Whitesville facility, reporting 508 affected workers. Alpha Natural Resources Elk Run Coal Company and Maxxim Shared Services Roundbottom Powellton Deep Mine Hunter Peerless Mine, Seng Creek Powellton, Chess Processing followed with 478 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The data underscores mounting pressure on the West Virginia labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Mining & Energy sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by West 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 West Virginia WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.
Get weekly layoff reports in your inbox
Free weekly digest of WARN Act filings and analysis.
