West Virginia Layoffs — October 2016

Employers in West Virginia logged 5 WARN Act notices in October 2016, involving roughly 245 workers and down 93% versus October 2015. The average filing covered 49 workers, with 3 closures among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

Industry	Notices	Workers
Mining & Energy	2	149
Manufacturing	2	17

The Mining & Energy sector dominated layoff filings with 149 workers across 2 notices. Meanwhile, Manufacturing reported 17 workers.

Geographic Hotspots

County	Notices	Workers
Webster	2	149
Wood	1	79
Hancock	2	17

Webster saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 61% of all affected workers with 149 workers across 2 notices.

City	Notices	Workers
Cowen	2	149
Walker	1	79
Weirton	2	17

Layoff Type Analysis

Type	Notices	Workers
Layoff	2	149
Closure	3	96

Closures accounted for 39% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.

Largest Layoffs

Company	City	Workers	Type	Date
Arch Coal Eastern Complex	Cowen	140	Layoff	2016-10-20
Pressley Ridge White Oak Facility	Walker	79	Closure	2016-10-20
Ball & Aerosol Packaging Weirton Plant	Weirton	15	Closure	2016-10-21
Arch Coal Eastern Complex	Cowen	9	Layoff	2016-10-20
Ball & Aerosol Packaging Weirton Plant	Weirton	2	Closure	2016-10-21

The biggest impact was at Arch Coal Eastern Complex at its Cowen facility, reporting 140 affected workers. Pressley Ridge White Oak Facility followed with 79 workers.

Trend & Outlook

After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.

This data points to a mixed picture for West Virginia's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. 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.