Employers in Washington filed 14 WARN Act notices in May 2016, impacting roughly 2,312 workers — representing a notable rise over April and up 1184% versus May 2015. The average filing covered 165 workers, with 6 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | 1 | 70 |
The Retail sector led the way in workforce reductions with 70 workers across 1 notice.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Benton | 2 | 870 |
| Franklin | 2 | 500 |
| Mason | 2 | 434 |
| King | 2 | 248 |
| Pierce | 2 | 140 |
Benton bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 38% of all affected workers with 870 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Richland | 2 | 870 |
| Pasco | 2 | 500 |
| Shelton | 2 | 434 |
| Woodinville | 2 | 248 |
| Tacoma | 2 | 140 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 6 | 1,153 |
| Layoff | 1 | 3 |
Closures accounted for 50% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Closure Hanford | Richland | 435 | Closure | 2016-05-10 |
| Washington Closure Hanford | Richland | 435 | 2016-05-10 | |
| CRF Frozen Foods | Pasco | 250 | Closure | 2016-05-12 |
| CRF Frozen Foods | Pasco | 250 | 2016-05-12 | |
| Olympic Panel Products | Shelton | 217 | Closure | 2016-05-23 |
| Olympic Panel Products | Shelton | 217 | 2016-05-23 | |
| Spectrum Glass Company | Woodinville | 124 | Closure | 2016-05-18 |
| Spectrum Glass Company | Woodinville | 124 | 2016-05-18 | |
| Forever 21 Retail | Tacoma | 70 | Closure | 2016-05-25 |
| Forever 21 | Tacoma | 70 | 2016-05-25 | |
| Broadspectrum | Anacortes | 57 | Closure | 2016-05-20 |
| Broadspectrum | Anacortes | 57 | 2016-05-20 | |
| Summit Management Company | Winlock | 3 | Layoff | 2016-05-18 |
| Summit Management Company | Winlock | 3 | 2016-05-18 |
The single largest action involved Washington Closure Hanford at its Richland facility, reporting 435 affected workers. Washington Closure Hanford followed with 435 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The data underscores mounting pressure on the Washington labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Retail 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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