Employers in Wisconsin reported 14 WARN Act notices in August 2017, displacing an estimated 4,702 workers — signaling an acceleration from July and up 419% versus August 2016. The average filing covered 336 workers, with 7 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | 4 | 1,773 |
| Manufacturing | 1 | 620 |
| Other | 3 | 271 |
The Retail sector topped the list of affected industries with 1,773 workers across 4 notices. Notably, Manufacturing reported 620 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Outagamie | 2 | 1,240 |
| Barron, Chippewa, Clark, Eau Claire, Jackson, La Crosse, Marathon, Monroe, Richland, Rusk, Sawyer, Trempealeau, Washburn | 1 | 1,008 |
| Dane, Kenosha, Waukesha | 2 | 626 |
| Milwaukee | 2 | 450 |
| Dane, Green, & Waukesha | 2 | 278 |
Outagamie felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 26% of all affected workers with 1,240 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Combined Locks | 2 | 1,240 |
| Arcadia, Augusta, Barron, Black River Falls, Chetek, Chippewa Falls, Cornell, Eau Claire, Galesville, Hayward, La Crosse, Ladysmith, Neillsville, Rice Lake, Richland Center, Shell Lake, Spencer, Stanley, Tomah, Whitehall | 1 | 1,008 |
| Arcadia, Augusta, Barron, Black River Falls, Chetek, Chippewa Falls, Cornell, Ea | 1 | 1,008 |
| Fitchburg, Kenosha, Madison, Middleton, Waukesha | 2 | 626 |
| Milwaukee | 2 | 450 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 7 | 2,351 |
Closures accounted for 50% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gordy's Chippewa Foods, Inc | Arcadia, Augusta, Barron, Black River Falls, Chetek, Chippewa Falls, Cornell, Eau Claire, Galesville, Hayward, La Crosse, Ladysmith, Neillsville, Rice Lake, Richland Center, Shell Lake, Spencer, Stanley, Tomah, Whitehall | 1,008 | Closure | 2017-08-29 |
| Gordy's Chippewa Foods, Inc | Arcadia, Augusta, Barron, Black River Falls, Chetek, Chippewa Falls, Cornell, Ea | 1,008 | 2017-08-29 | |
| Appleton Coated LLC | Combined Locks | 620 | Closure | 2017-08-21 |
| Appleton Coated LLC | Combined Locks | 620 | 2017-08-21 | |
| PDQ Food Stores, Inc | Fitchburg, Kenosha, Madison, Middleton, Waukesha | 313 | Closure | 2017-08-07 |
| PDQ Food Stores, Inc | Fitchburg, Kenosha, Madison, Middleton, Waukesha | 313 | 2017-08-07 | |
| Fortis Management Group LLC | Milwaukee | 225 | Closure | 2017-08-22 |
| Fortis Management Group LLC | Milwaukee | 225 | 2017-08-22 | |
| Brennan's Market | Brookfield, Madison, Monroe, New Glarus, & Oconomowoc | 139 | Closure | 2017-08-01 |
| Brennan's Market | Brookfield, Madison, Monroe, New Glarus, & Oconomowoc | 139 | 2017-08-01 | |
| Thunder Pallet, Inc | Theresa | 42 | Closure | 2017-08-02 |
| Thunder Pallet, Inc | Theresa | 42 | 2017-08-02 | |
| Marobo, LLC | Mayville | 4 | Closure | 2017-08-02 |
| Marobo, LLC | Mayville | 4 | 2017-08-02 |
The most significant filing came from Gordy's Chippewa Foods, Inc at its Arcadia, Augusta, Barron, Black River Falls, Chetek, Chippewa Falls, Cornell, Eau Claire, Galesville, Hayward, La Crosse, Ladysmith, Neillsville, Rice Lake, Richland Center, Shell Lake, Spencer, Stanley, Tomah, Whitehall facility, reporting 1,008 affected workers. Gordy's Chippewa Foods, Inc followed with 1,008 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The numbers illustrate mounting pressure on the Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin. 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 Wisconsin WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.
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