Kentucky Layoffs — November 2019
Employers in Kentucky posted 9 WARN Act notices in November 2019, affecting an estimated 729 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to October and up 667% versus November 2018. The average filing covered 81 workers, with 3 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | 1 | 279 |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 271 |
| Agriculture | 1 | 38 |
| Mining & Energy | 3 | 35 |
The Retail sector saw the heaviest impact with 279 workers across 1 notice. On a related front, Manufacturing reported 271 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Grayson | 1 | 279 |
| Christian | 1 | 171 |
| Shelby | 1 | 100 |
| Bell | 1 | 97 |
| Harlan | 2 | 43 |
Grayson saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 38% of all affected workers with 279 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Martin | 1 | 279 |
| Louisville | 1 | 171 |
| Bowling Green | 1 | 100 |
| Harlan | 2 | 43 |
| Stinnett | 1 | 21 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 3 | 550 |
| Layoff | 6 | 179 |
The high proportion of closures (75% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Kentucky's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTD Products | Martin | 279 | Closure | |
| Ebonite International | Louisville | 171 | Closure | |
| Bekaert | Bowling Green | 100 | Closure | |
| Balkan area Mines and Facilities | 97 | Layoff | ||
| Bailey's Creek, Cranks Creek & Day Branch Mines | Harlan | 38 | Layoff | |
| Nally & Hamilton Enterprise Inc Stinnett Mine | Stinnett | 21 | Layoff | |
| Nally & Hamilton Enterprises Inc Stinnett Mine -London | London | 9 | Layoff | |
| Stinnett Mine -London | London | 9 | Layoff | |
| Nally & Hamilton Enterprise | Harlan | 5 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by MTD Products at its Martin facility, reporting 279 affected workers. Ebonite International followed with 171 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Kentucky labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Retail sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Kentucky. 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 Kentucky WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.