North Carolina Layoffs — August 2018

Employers in North Carolina recorded 4 WARN Act notices in August 2018, covering approximately 984 workers — marking a sharp increase from July and up 39% versus August 2017. The average filing covered 246 workers, with 4 closures among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

Industry	Notices	Workers
Transportation	1	102

The Transportation sector accounted for the largest share of job cuts with 102 workers across 1 notice.

Geographic Hotspots

County	Notices	Workers
Caldwell	2	712
Mecklenburg	1	170
Johnston	1	102

Caldwell saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 72% of all affected workers with 712 workers across 2 notices.

Layoff Type Analysis

Type	Notices	Workers
Closure	4	984

The high proportion of closures (100% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in North Carolina's labor market.

Largest Layoffs

Company	City	Workers	Type	Date
Heritage Home Group LLC		486	Closure	2018-08-28
Heritage Home Group LLC		226	Closure	2018-08-28
WestRock		170	Closure	2018-08-16
Smithfield Fresh Meats Corp (Clayton Distribution Center)		102	Closure	2018-08-30

Leading the list was Heritage Home Group LLC at its North Carolina facility, reporting 486 affected workers. Heritage Home Group LLC followed with 226 workers.

Trend & Outlook

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

The filings reflect mounting pressure on the North Carolina 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 North Carolina. 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 North Carolina WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.