US Layoffs — February 2026, Week 2

In-Depth Analysis

The second week of February 2026 delivered an unexpected reprieve in America's layoff cycle, with WARN Act filings plummeting 72% week-over-week to just 61 notices affecting 5,181 workers. Yet beneath this statistical calm lies a more troubling narrative: the structural unwinding of entire industrial ecosystems, from Appalachian coal extraction to Milwaukee's century-old meatpacking infrastructure. While the Federal Reserve's recent pivot toward neutral monetary policy may be cooling the pace of corporate restructuring, the quality and permanence of these job losses suggests deeper sectoral shifts that monetary policy cannot address.

The Mining-to-Meatpacking Convergence

The week's largest single filing came from Greenbriar Minerals, which will lay off 530 workers across three West Virginia communities—Lorado, Cyclone, and Davin—on February 13th. This represents nearly 30% of the nation's total displacement in a single stroke, highlighting how concentrated industrial decline can devastate entire regional economies. Coal's structural challenges have only intensified as natural gas prices remain depressed and renewable energy costs continue their relentless descent. The timing suggests companies are moving decisively to shutter marginal operations before the spring debt refinancing cycle, when higher borrowing costs could make restructuring more expensive.

Meanwhile, Cargill Meat Solutions filed dual notices for its Milwaukee facility, affecting 442 workers in what appears to be both a closure and layoff scenario—possibly indicating a phased shutdown of processing lines. The meatpacking giant's decision reflects broader margin compression in protein processing, where labor costs have surged 18% since 2024 while wholesale beef prices have stagnated. Cargill's move also signals the industry's geographic consolidation toward newer, more automated facilities in right-to-work states, leaving legacy Midwest operations vulnerable.

This mining-meatpacking convergence reveals how different industries facing distinct pressures—energy transition versus agricultural economics—nonetheless arrive at similar workforce reduction strategies when capital becomes more expensive to deploy.

The Logistics Recession Nobody Named

Transportation and warehousing companies accounted for 409 displaced workers this week, led by DHL Supply Chain's 203-worker closure in Lakeland, Florida. This facility shutdown reflects the broader recalibration of e-commerce logistics networks, which expanded aggressively during the pandemic's shipping surge but now face normalized demand patterns and elevated real estate costs.

Community Wholesale Tire Distribution's 143-worker closure in Hazelwood, Missouri, adds another data point to the automotive aftermarket's consolidation. With new vehicle sales recovering and supply chains stabilizing, the tire distribution sector is shedding the redundant capacity built during the chip shortage era when replacement tire demand spiked. The company's Missouri location likely became economically unviable as transportation costs rose and competitor networks achieved greater density advantages.

In Massachusetts, AE Regional Distribution (formerly Quiet Logistics) filed for 103 workers in Devens, marking another casualty in the automated fulfillment space. The company's rebrand and workforce reduction suggest either private equity-driven restructuring or a strategic pivot away from labor-intensive operations toward fully automated solutions. This pattern—where logistics companies simultaneously reduce headcount while investing in robotics—has become the sector's dominant narrative.

The broader logistics recession reflects overcapacity built during an era of ultra-low interest rates and pandemic-distorted demand. As normalization continues, operators are discovering that many facilities generate insufficient returns to justify their operational complexity.

Manufacturing's Selective Retreat

Manufacturing generated 668 displaced workers across eight notices, but the sectoral breakdown reveals strategic rather than cyclical pressures. Milliken's Cedar Hill Plant closure in Jonesville, South Carolina, eliminates 126 positions in what appears to be the textile manufacturer's continued retreat from commodity fiber production toward higher-margin technical textiles and chemicals.

PA Potato Chip Manufacturing's 96-worker reduction in Berlin, Pennsylvania, reflects the snack food industry's consolidation as private label production migrates toward larger, more automated facilities. Regional producers face impossible economics against national brands that can amortize marketing costs across broader geographic footprints while achieving superior supply chain efficiency.

California's Johns Manville facility closure in 49 Willows affects 90 workers in the building materials sector, likely responding to the state's residential construction slowdown as mortgage rates remain elevated despite recent Federal Reserve signals. The company's decision to consolidate capacity suggests management expects prolonged weakness in Western housing markets.

Fender Musical Instruments reduced its California workforce by 60, indicating even niche manufacturing faces margin pressure. The guitar maker's cuts likely reflect both softening consumer discretionary spending and the broader challenge of maintaining U.S. production in categories where offshore alternatives have achieved quality parity.

These manufacturing reductions share a common thread: companies are abandoning commodity production while preserving specialized, higher-value operations where geographic proximity to customers or unique capabilities provide sustainable advantages.

Tech's Measured Discipline

Technology sector layoffs remained modest, with Clari Inc reducing 76 workers in California and Riot Games cutting 56. Both companies operate in spaces—sales enablement software and gaming—where venture capital availability has tightened dramatically since interest rates normalized. Clari's workforce reduction likely reflects the sales software sector's maturation as enterprises complete their initial digital transformation investments and focus on optimizing existing tools rather than acquiring new platforms.

Riot Games' layoffs in the gaming sector reflect the industry's post-pandemic adjustment as player engagement patterns normalize and mobile gaming continues gaining share against PC-based titles. The company's measured approach suggests management is preserving core development talent while eliminating peripheral functions.

This restrained pace of technology layoffs contrasts sharply with 2024's dramatic workforce reductions, suggesting the sector has largely completed its right-sizing process and now operates with more sustainable cost structures aligned to realistic revenue growth expectations.

Retail's Final Act

The retail apocalypse continued its methodical progression through Saks & Company filings across multiple states—Massachusetts, Arizona, Alabama, Virginia, and Ohio—affecting a combined 295 workers. These closures represent luxury retail's adaptation to permanently altered shopping patterns, where even affluent consumers have shifted toward digital channels for routine purchases while reserving in-store visits for experiential shopping.

Eddie Bauer's 60-worker reduction in Washington state reflects outdoor apparel's competitive pressures as direct-to-consumer brands capture market share from traditional retailers burdened by legacy store lease obligations. The company's workforce cuts likely accompany a broader strategic shift toward e-commerce fulfillment and away from brick-and-mortar operations.

SpartanNash's 57-worker grocery store reduction in Wisconsin indicates consolidation pressures even in food retail, where operators face simultaneous challenges from discount chains, online grocery delivery, and elevated labor costs that cannot be fully passed through to price-sensitive consumers.

Geographic Epicenters of Decline

West Virginia's 530-worker displacement from a single mining operation created the week's most concentrated economic impact, but California's 556 total workers across nine notices reveals more systemic weakness. The state's diverse layoff profile—spanning technology, manufacturing, and automotive components—suggests broad-based cost pressures that transcend individual industry dynamics.

Massachusetts recorded 534 affected workers across six notices, with particular concentration in logistics and retail operations around Boston. The state's pattern indicates service sector adjustment as the regional economy adapts to hybrid work's permanent reduction in urban commercial activity.

Wisconsin's 556 workers across four notices, dominated by Cargill's meatpacking closure, highlights the Midwest's continued industrial restructuring as legacy manufacturing operations face intensified competition from more modern facilities in lower-cost regions.

The Velocity Question

This week's 72% reduction in WARN Act activity raises questions about whether corporate America has achieved a new equilibrium or merely paused for strategic reassessment. The Federal Reserve's recent dovish signals may have encouraged companies to delay marginal closure decisions, creating temporary stability that masks underlying structural pressures.

However, the concentration of this week's layoffs in capital-intensive industries—mining, meatpacking, manufacturing—suggests that interest rate sensitivity remains acute for operations requiring significant ongoing investment. As these companies complete their immediate restructuring, attention will shift to whether service sector employers begin more aggressive workforce optimization.

The labor market's resilience will ultimately depend on whether displaced workers from declining industries can transition to expanding sectors, and whether those growing sectors generate employment at comparable wage levels. This week's filings offer little evidence that such absorption is occurring at scale, suggesting that America's employment challenges may be shifting from cyclical to structural in nature.