Employers in Washington posted 17 WARN Act notices in December 2020, affecting an estimated 632 workers — reflecting a cooling compared to November and down 55% versus December 2019. The average filing covered 37 workers, with 3 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Professional Services | 2 | 120 |
| Education | 3 | 88 |
| Transportation | 2 | 84 |
The Professional Services sector saw the heaviest impact with 120 workers across 2 notices. On a related front, Education reported 88 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Kitsap | 4 | 216 |
| Pierce | 4 | 196 |
| King | 4 | 124 |
| Snohomish | 2 | 12 |
Kitsap was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 34% of all affected workers with 216 workers across 4 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Issaquah | 2 | 122 |
| Bremerton | 2 | 120 |
| Tacoma | 2 | 108 |
| Keyport | 2 | 96 |
| Lakewood | 2 | 88 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 3 | 159 |
| Layoff | 5 | 157 |
Closures accounted for 25% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global Life Sciences Solutions USA LLC / cytiva | Issaquah | 61 | Closure | 2020-12-29 |
| Global Life Sciences Solutions USA LLC / cytiva | Issaquah | 61 | 2020-12-29 | |
| Life Cycle Engineering Inc | Bremerton | 60 | Layoff | 2020-12-04 |
| Life Cycle Engineering Inc | Bremerton | 60 | 2020-12-04 | |
| Progress Rail Services Corporation | Tacoma | 54 | Closure | 2020-12-10 |
| Progress Rail Services Corporation | Tacoma | 54 | 2020-12-10 | |
| Saalex Solutions Inc | Keyport | 48 | Layoff | 2020-12-29 |
| Saalex Solutions Inc | Keyport | 48 | 2020-12-29 | |
| Durham School Services | Lakewood | 44 | Closure | 2020-12-21 |
| Durham School Services | Lakewood | 44 | 2020-12-21 | |
| Southwest Airlines Co | SeaTac | 42 | Layoff | 2020-12-03 |
| Southwest Airlines Co | SeaTac | 42 | 2020-12-03 | |
| Soundair Repair Group, LLC | Snohomish | 6 | Layoff | 2020-12-04 |
| Soundair Repair Group | Snohomish | 6 | 2020-12-04 | |
| Hyatt Corporation / Hyatt Regency Lake Washington | Renton | 1 | Layoff | 2020-12-04 |
The largest notice was filed by Global Life Sciences Solutions USA LLC / cytiva at its Issaquah facility, reporting 61 affected workers. Global Life Sciences Solutions USA LLC / cytiva followed with 61 workers.
This is the third consecutive month of declining layoff activity.
The trends suggest a easing in workforce disruptions across Washington, with filings falling below both recent and year-ago levels. The Professional Services 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.
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