Washington Layoffs — February 2019
Employers in Washington posted 7 WARN Act notices in February 2019, affecting an estimated 2,714 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to January and up 567% versus February 2018. The average filing covered 388 workers, with 5 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3 | 1,387 |
| Agriculture | 1 | 807 |
| Accommodation & Food | 1 | 202 |
| Retail | 1 | 175 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 143 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 1,387 workers across 3 notices. On a related front, Agriculture reported 807 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Yakima | 4 | 2,194 |
| King | 3 | 520 |
Yakima felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 81% of all affected workers with 2,194 workers across 4 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Wapato | 2 | 1,208 |
| Selah | 1 | 807 |
| SeaTac | 1 | 202 |
| Yakima | 1 | 179 |
| Kirkland | 1 | 175 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 5 | 2,369 |
| Layoff | 2 | 345 |
The high proportion of closures (87% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Washington's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Fruit III | Wapato | 1,009 | Closure | |
| Larson Orchard Management | Selah | 807 | Closure | |
| HMS Host | SeaTac | 202 | Layoff | |
| Legacy Fruit Packers | Wapato | 199 | Closure | |
| Jeld Wen | Yakima | 179 | Closure | |
| Lowe's | Kirkland | 175 | Closure | |
| ArenaNet | Bellevue | 143 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Valley Fruit III at its Wapato facility, reporting 1,009 affected workers. Larson Orchard Management followed with 807 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Washington 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 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.