Employers in Pennsylvania logged 9 WARN Act notices in October 2019, involving roughly 1,334 workers — climbing above September and up 755% versus October 2018. The average filing covered 148 workers, with 7 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 2 | 412 |
| Utilities | 1 | 49 |
The Transportation sector dominated layoff filings with 412 workers across 2 notices. Meanwhile, Utilities reported 49 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Montgomery | 2 | 592 |
| Bucks | 1 | 356 |
| Philadelphia | 2 | 174 |
| Cumberland | 1 | 100 |
| York | 1 | 56 |
Montgomery bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 44% of all affected workers with 592 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| North Wales, Lansdale | 1 | 500 |
| Fairless Hills, Langhorne | 1 | 356 |
| Philadelphia | 2 | 174 |
| Lemoyne | 1 | 100 |
| Hatboro | 1 | 92 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 7 | 834 |
| Layoff | 1 | 500 |
The high proportion of closures (63% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Pennsylvania's labor market.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merck & Co., Inc | North Wales, Lansdale | 500 | Layoff | 2019-10-01 |
| Rite Aid Distribution Centers | Fairless Hills, Langhorne | 356 | Closure | 2019-10-01 |
| LSC Communications US, LLC | Philadelphia | 174 | Closure | 2019-10-01 |
| Veritiv Operating Company | Lemoyne | 100 | Closure | 2019-10-01 |
| Benjamin Foods, LLC | Hatboro | 92 | Closure | 2019-10-01 |
| Swift Logistics, LLC | York | 56 | Closure | 2019-10-01 |
| FirstEnergy Generation Corp. Bruce Mansfield Generation Plant | Shippingport | 49 | Closure | 2019-10-01 |
| *UPDATE* Johnson & Johnson | West Chester | 7 | Closure | 2019-10-01 |
| Oakwood Worldwide LP | Philadelphia | N/A | 2019-10-01 |
The biggest impact was at Merck & Co., Inc at its North Wales, Lansdale facility, reporting 500 affected workers. Rite Aid Distribution Centers followed with 356 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
This data points to mounting pressure on the Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania. 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 Pennsylvania WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.
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