Employers in West Virginia reported 15 WARN Act notices in May 2020, displacing an estimated 3,837 workers — signaling an acceleration from April and up 381% versus May 2019. The average filing covered 256 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | 7 | 2,503 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 340 |
| Mining & Energy | 1 | 78 |
The Utilities sector topped the list of affected industries with 2,503 workers across 7 notices. Notably, Healthcare reported 340 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Marshall | 2 | 1,301 |
| Marion | 2 | 931 |
| Mercer | 1 | 340 |
| Mingo | 1 | 254 |
| Jackson | 2 | 245 |
Marshall saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 34% of all affected workers with 1,301 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Cameron | 1 | 854 |
| Metz | 1 | 483 |
| Mannington | 1 | 448 |
| Dallas | 1 | 447 |
| Bluefield | 1 | 340 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 13 | 3,447 |
| Closure | 2 | 390 |
Closures accounted for 10% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murray Energy Holdings Company Marshall County Coal Company | Cameron | 854 | Layoff | 2020-05-28 |
| Murray Energy Holdings Company Marion County Coal Company | Metz | 483 | Layoff | 2020-05-28 |
| Murray Energy Holdings Company Harrison County Coal Company | Mannington | 448 | Layoff | 2020-05-28 |
| Murray Energy Holdings Company Ohio County Coal Company | Dallas | 447 | Layoff | 2020-05-28 |
| Bluefield Regional Medical Center | Bluefield | 340 | Closure | 2020-05-29 |
| Southeastern Land, LLC | Delbarton, Lenore, Williamson, Naugatuck | 254 | Layoff | 2020-05-01 |
| Homer Laughlin China Company | Newell | 200 | Layoff | 2020-05-14 |
| Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC | Ravenswood | 175 | Layoff | 2020-05-08 |
| Gestamp West Virginia, LCC | South Charleston | 140 | Layoff | 2020-05-08 |
| Murray Energy Holdings Company Anchor Longwall & Rebuild, Inc | Wheeling | 139 | Layoff | 2020-05-28 |
| Murray Energy Holdings Company Kanawha Transportation Center, Inc | Wheeling | 82 | Layoff | 2020-05-28 |
| Panther Creek Mining, LLC | Ecksdale | 78 | Layoff | 2020-05-12 |
| American Woodmark Corporation | 77 | Layoff | 2020-05-01 | |
| Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC | Ravenswood | 70 | Layoff | 2020-05-08 |
| Extra Energy, Inc. Southern Surface Mine | Skygusty | 50 | Closure | 2020-05-14 |
The most significant filing came from Murray Energy Holdings Company Marshall County Coal Company at its Cameron facility, reporting 854 affected workers. Murray Energy Holdings Company Marion County Coal Company followed with 483 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The numbers illustrate mounting pressure on the West Virginia labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Utilities sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by West Virginia. 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 West Virginia WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.
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