Washington Layoffs — August 2020
Employers in Washington filed 20 WARN Act notices in August 2020, impacting roughly 2,757 workers — representing a notable rise over July and up 186% versus August 2019. The average filing covered 138 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation & Food | 6 | 845 |
| Manufacturing | 3 | 702 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 595 |
| Retail | 2 | 184 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 4 | 155 |
| Transportation | 1 | 145 |
| Government | 1 | 66 |
| Wholesale Trade | 1 | 53 |
The Accommodation & Food sector led the way in workforce reductions with 845 workers across 6 notices. In a parallel development, Manufacturing reported 702 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| King | 18 | 2,661 |
| Benton | 1 | 50 |
| Spokane | 1 | 46 |
King felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 97% of all affected workers with 2,661 workers across 18 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | 8 | 1,098 |
| Kent | 2 | 661 |
| SeaTac | 3 | 623 |
| Auburn | 2 | 113 |
| Bellevue | 1 | 95 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 16 | 1,957 |
| Closure | 2 | 690 |
Closures accounted for 25% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlisle Interconnect Technologies | Kent | 595 | Closure | |
| Boeing | Seattle | 592 | Layoff | |
| Sky Chefs | SeaTac | 360 | Layoff | |
| HMSHost | SeaTac | 251 | Layoff | |
| MV Transportation | Seattle | 145 | Layoff | |
| Bon Appetit Management | Seattle | 116 | Layoff | |
| Neiman Marcus Group | Bellevue | 95 | Closure | |
| Hudson Group | Seattle | 89 | Layoff | |
| YMCA of Greater Seattle | Seattle | 66 | Layoff | |
| Arctic Circle Enterprises | Kent | 66 | Layoff | |
| IPIC Theaters | Redmond | 65 | Layoff | |
| ThyssenKrupp | Auburn | 60 | ||
| thyssenkrupp Materials | Auburn | 53 | Layoff | |
| Sandvik Special Metals | Kennewick | 50 | ||
| Argosy LP, DBA Argosy Cruises | Seattle | 49 | Layoff |
The single largest action involved Carlisle Interconnect Technologies at its Kent facility, reporting 595 affected workers. Boeing followed with 592 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The data underscores mounting pressure on the Washington labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Accommodation & Food 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.