Washington Layoffs — November 2017
Employers in Washington filed 7 WARN Act notices in November 2017, impacting roughly 478 workers — representing a notable rise over October and up 41% versus November 2016. The average filing covered 68 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Information & Technology | 2 | 342 |
| Education | 2 | 74 |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 45 |
| Professional Services | 1 | 17 |
The Information & Technology sector led the way in workforce reductions with 342 workers across 2 notices. In a parallel development, Education reported 74 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| King | 4 | 361 |
| Pierce | 2 | 88 |
| Snohomish | 1 | 29 |
King felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 76% of all affected workers with 361 workers across 4 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| SeaTac | 2 | 342 |
| Tacoma | 1 | 45 |
| Lakewood | 1 | 43 |
| Everett | 1 | 29 |
| Seattle | 2 | 19 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 2 | 214 |
| Layoff | 4 | 93 |
Closures accounted for 45% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABM Aviation | SeaTac | 171 | Closure | |
| ABM Industries | SeaTac | 171 | ||
| Zenith Education Group | Tacoma | 45 | Layoff | |
| Northrop Grumman | Lakewood | 43 | Closure | |
| Zenith Education Group | Everett | 29 | Layoff | |
| The Hacker Group | Seattle | 17 | Layoff | |
| Boeing | Seattle | 2 | Layoff |
The single largest action involved ABM Aviation at its SeaTac facility, reporting 171 affected workers. ABM Industries followed with 171 workers.
Trend & Outlook
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 Information & Technology 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.