Employers in Wisconsin posted 20 WARN Act notices in January 2018, affecting an estimated 1,031 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to December and up 267% versus January 2017. The average filing covered 52 workers, with 7 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 2 | 294 |
| Finance & Insurance | 3 | 260 |
| Retail | 4 | 240 |
| Other | 3 | 237 |
| Information & Technology | 2 | 0 |
The Transportation sector saw the heaviest impact with 294 workers across 2 notices. On a related front, Finance & Insurance reported 260 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Outagamie | 3 | 335 |
| Milwaukee | 1 | 165 |
| Waukesha | 2 | 150 |
| Dane | 1 | 129 |
| Fond du Lac | 1 | 120 |
Outagamie absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 32% of all affected workers with 335 workers across 3 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Appleton | 3 | 335 |
| West Allis | 1 | 165 |
| Madison | 1 | 129 |
| Fond du Lac | 1 | 120 |
| Oconomowoc | 1 | 91 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 7 | 669 |
| Layoff | 2 | 260 |
The high proportion of closures (65% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Wisconsin's labor market.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam's Club | West Allis | 165 | Closure | 2018-01-11 |
| Jackson National Life Insurance - Revision 3 | Appleton | 145 | Layoff | 2018-01-30 |
| Sam's Club | Madison | 129 | Closure | 2018-01-16 |
| Saputo Cheese USA, Inc | Fond du Lac | 120 | Closure | 2018-01-30 |
| Jackson National Life Insurance - Revision 2 | Appleton | 115 | Layoff | 2018-01-29 |
| Lake Country Foods, Inc | Oconomowoc | 91 | Closure | 2018-01-12 |
| Younkers | Appleton | 75 | Closure | 2018-01-31 |
| Younkers | Wausau | 63 | Closure | 2018-01-31 |
| Sears Holdings | Brookfield | 59 | 2018-01-10 | |
| Sears Holdings | Green Bay | 43 | 2018-01-10 | |
| ACCO Brands | Pleasant Prairie | 26 | Closure | 2018-01-22 |
| F + W Media - Revision 1 | Iola | 0 | 2018-01-29 | |
| Sears | Purchase dataset for city details | N/A | 2018-01-10 | |
| Sam's Club | Purchase dataset for city details | N/A | 2018-01-11 | |
| Lake Country Foods, Inc | Purchase dataset for city details | N/A | 2018-01-12 |
The largest notice was filed by Sam's Club at its West Allis facility, reporting 165 affected workers. Jackson National Life Insurance - Revision 3 followed with 145 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Wisconsin labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Transportation 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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