West Virginia Layoffs — January 2018

Employers in West Virginia reported 3 WARN Act notices in January 2018, displacing an estimated 235 workers — signaling an acceleration from December and up 110% versus January 2017. The average filing covered 78 workers, with 0 closures among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

Industry	Notices	Workers
Manufacturing	1	206
Professional Services	1	28

The Manufacturing sector topped the list of affected industries with 206 workers across 1 notice. Notably, Professional Services reported 28 workers.

Geographic Hotspots

County	Notices	Workers
Kanawha	1	206
Jefferson	1	28
Berkeley	1	1

Kanawha bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 88% of all affected workers with 206 workers across 1 notices.

City	Notices	Workers
Charleston	1	206
Shepherdstown	1	28
Martinsburg	1	1

Layoff Type Analysis

Type	Notices	Workers
Layoff	3	235

Largest Layoffs

Company	City	Workers	Type	Date
Charleston Newspapers	Charleston	206	Layoff	2018-01-29
ASM Research	Shepherdstown	28	Layoff	2018-01-26
Compass Group GM Martinsburg	Martinsburg	1	Layoff	2018-01-29

The most significant filing came from Charleston Newspapers at its Charleston facility, reporting 206 affected workers. ASM Research followed with 28 workers.

Trend & Outlook

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

The numbers illustrate mounting pressure on the West Virginia 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 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.