Tennessee Layoffs — September 2016
Employers in Tennessee reported 8 WARN Act notices in September 2016, displacing an estimated 518 workers — signaling an acceleration from August and up 380% versus September 2015. The average filing covered 65 workers, with 3 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 4 | 230 |
| Professional Services | 3 | 170 |
| Retail | 1 | 118 |
The Manufacturing sector topped the list of affected industries with 230 workers across 4 notices. Notably, Professional Services reported 170 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Shelby | 1 | 118 |
| Greene | 1 | 83 |
| Marshall | 1 | 83 |
| Knox | 1 | 75 |
| Tipton | 1 | 53 |
Shelby bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 23% of all affected workers with 118 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Memphis | 1 | 118 |
| Greeneville | 1 | 83 |
| Lewisburg | 1 | 83 |
| Knoxville | 1 | 75 |
| Covington | 1 | 53 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 3 | 219 |
| Layoff | 4 | 181 |
Closures accounted for 42% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kmart | Memphis | 118 | ||
| Blair Composites | Greeneville | 83 | Closure | |
| Ledford Employee Exchange | Lewisburg | 83 | Closure | |
| Sitel Operating | Knoxville | 75 | Layoff | |
| Gold Bond Worldwide | Covington | 53 | Closure | |
| INVISTA Chattanooga | Chattanooga | 50 | Layoff | |
| Kohler | Union City | 44 | Layoff | |
| Asurion | Nashville | 12 | Layoff |
The most significant filing came from Kmart at its Memphis facility, reporting 118 affected workers. Blair Composites followed with 83 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The numbers illustrate mounting pressure on the Tennessee labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Manufacturing 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.