Employers in Washington submitted 7 WARN Act notices in October 2018, putting at risk an estimated 853 workers — up substantially from September and up 46% versus October 2017. The average filing covered 122 workers, with 3 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 2 | 328 |
| Agriculture | 1 | 269 |
The Healthcare sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 328 workers across 2 notices. Separately, Agriculture reported 269 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| King | 4 | 454 |
| Pierce | 1 | 269 |
| Snohomish | 2 | 130 |
King bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 53% of all affected workers with 454 workers across 4 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Way | 2 | 328 |
| Tacoma | 1 | 269 |
| Stanwood | 2 | 130 |
| Seattle | 2 | 126 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 3 | 292 |
Closures accounted for 34% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Farm | Tacoma | 269 | 2018-10-31 | |
| QualChoice Health Plan Services | Federal Way | 164 | Closure | 2018-10-31 |
| QualChoice Health Plan Services | Federal Way | 164 | 2018-10-31 | |
| Twin City Foods, Inc | Stanwood | 65 | Closure | 2018-10-04 |
| Twin City Foods | Stanwood | 65 | 2018-10-04 | |
| ZymoGenetics | Seattle | 63 | Closure | 2018-10-31 |
| ZymoGenetics | Seattle | 63 | 2018-10-31 |
Topping the list was State Farm at its Tacoma facility, reporting 269 affected workers. QualChoice Health Plan Services followed with 164 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
These figures highlight mounting pressure on the Washington labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Healthcare 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.
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