West Virginia Layoffs — May 2023

Employers in West Virginia reported 3 WARN Act notices in May 2023, displacing an estimated 575 workers — signaling an acceleration from April. The average filing covered 192 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

Industry	Notices	Workers
Mining & Energy	1	271

The Mining & Energy sector topped the list of affected industries with 271 workers across 1 notice.

Geographic Hotspots

County	Notices	Workers
Hancock	1	300
Randolph	2	275

Hancock saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 52% of all affected workers with 300 workers across 1 notices.

City	Notices	Workers
Weirton	1	300
Mill Creek	2	275

Layoff Type Analysis

Type	Notices	Workers
Layoff	1	300
Closure	2	275

Closures accounted for 48% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.

Largest Layoffs

Company	City	Workers	Type	Date
Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc	Weirton	300	Layoff	2023-05-22
Carter Roag Coal Company	Mill Creek	271	Closure	2023-05-12
Beech Mountain Railroad	Mill Creek	4	Closure	2023-05-12

The most significant filing came from Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc at its Weirton facility, reporting 300 affected workers. Carter Roag Coal Company followed with 271 workers.

Trend & Outlook

After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.

The numbers illustrate mounting pressure on the West Virginia labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Mining & Energy 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.