Virginia Layoffs — March 2018
Employers in Virginia posted 45 WARN Act notices in March 2018, affecting an estimated 4,390 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to February and up 622% versus March 2017. The average filing covered 98 workers, with 37 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 36 | 3,060 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 570 |
| Healthcare | 4 | 347 |
| Transportation | 1 | 181 |
| Professional Services | 2 | 165 |
| Retail | 1 | 67 |
The Agriculture sector saw the heaviest impact with 3,060 workers across 36 notices. On a related front, Information & Technology reported 570 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Montgomery | 1 | 570 |
| Virginia Beach | 7 | 541 |
| Virginia Beach City | 4 | 397 |
| Chesapeake City | 5 | 397 |
| Norfolk City | 5 | 395 |
Montgomery felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 13% of all affected workers with 570 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Christiansburg | 1 | 570 |
| Virignia Beach | 6 | 483 |
| Virginia Beach | 4 | 397 |
| Chesapeake | 5 | 397 |
| Norfolk | 5 | 395 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 37 | 3,630 |
| Layoff | 8 | 760 |
The high proportion of closures (83% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Virginia's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dish Network | Christiansburg | 570 | Closure | |
| Schneider National Carriers | Gordonsville | 181 | Layoff | |
| Farm Fresh #6240 | Virginia Beach | 134 | Closure | |
| Njvc | Chantilly | 113 | Layoff | |
| Farm Fresh #6257 | Hampton | 111 | Closure | |
| Farm Fresh #6246 | Norfolk | 104 | Closure | |
| Farm Fresh #6249 | Hampton | 102 | Closure | |
| Farm Fresh #6275 | Portsmouth | 100 | Closure | |
| Farm Fresh #6256 | Smithfield | 100 | Closure | |
| Farm Fresh #6279 | Virignia Beach | 98 | Closure | |
| Avante-Waynesboro | Waynsboro | 98 | Layoff | |
| Farm Fresh #6238 | Suffolk | 95 | Closure | |
| Farm Fresh #6255 | Chesapeake | 94 | Closure | |
| Farm Fresh #6293 | Virginia Beach | 94 | Closure | |
| Farm Fresh #6268 | Grafton | 93 | Closure |
The largest notice was filed by Dish Network at its Christiansburg facility, reporting 570 affected workers. Schneider National Carriers followed with 181 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Virginia labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Agriculture sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by 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 Virginia WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.