Employers in Washington recorded 8 WARN Act notices in January 2021, covering approximately 649 workers — marking a sharp increase from December and down 11% versus January 2020. The average filing covered 81 workers, with 1 closure among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 1 | 95 |
The Construction sector accounted for the largest share of job cuts with 95 workers across 1 notice.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Whatcom | 2 | 366 |
| King | 4 | 124 |
| Pierce | 1 | 95 |
| Lewis | 1 | 64 |
Whatcom absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 56% of all affected workers with 366 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Bellingham | 2 | 366 |
| Seattle | 4 | 124 |
| Tacoma | 1 | 95 |
| Centralia | 1 | 64 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 3 | 245 |
| Closure | 1 | 95 |
Closures accounted for 15% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aramark | Bellingham | 183 | Layoff | 2021-01-15 |
| Aramark | Bellingham | 183 | 2021-01-15 | |
| Carlson Paving Products, Inc | Tacoma | 95 | Closure | 2021-01-22 |
| TransAlta | Centralia | 64 | 2021-01-04 | |
| Double Down Interactive, LLC | Seattle | 55 | Layoff | 2021-01-07 |
| Double Down Interactive | Seattle | 55 | 2021-01-07 | |
| Museum of Pop Culture | Seattle | 7 | Layoff | 2021-01-12 |
| Museum of Pop Culture | Seattle | 7 | 2021-01-12 |
Leading the list was Aramark at its Bellingham facility, reporting 183 affected workers. Aramark followed with 183 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The filings reflect a mixed picture for Washington's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. The Construction 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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