Pennsylvania Layoffs — May 2001
Employers in Pennsylvania logged 18 WARN Act notices in May 2001, involving roughly 2,345 workers — falling below April. The average filing covered 130 workers, with 12 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 9 | 1,579 |
| Information & Technology | 3 | 390 |
| Transportation | 3 | 202 |
| Retail | 1 | 82 |
| Mining & Energy | 1 | 74 |
| Government | 1 | 18 |
The Manufacturing sector dominated layoff filings with 1,579 workers across 9 notices. Meanwhile, Information & Technology reported 390 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Lehigh | 5 | 844 |
| Berks | 1 | 259 |
| Washington | 1 | 236 |
| Allegheny | 3 | 228 |
| Erie | 1 | 217 |
Lehigh bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 36% of all affected workers with 844 workers across 5 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Breinigsville | 2 | 440 |
| Allentown | 3 | 404 |
| Reading | 1 | 259 |
| Lawrence | 1 | 236 |
| Erie | 1 | 217 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 12 | 1,259 |
| Layoff | 6 | 1,086 |
The high proportion of closures (54% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Pennsylvania's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agere Systems | Breinigsville | 390 | Layoff | |
| Agere Systems | Reading | 259 | Layoff | |
| ADC Broadband Wireless Group | Lawrence | 236 | Closure | |
| Gunite Corporation - EMI | Erie | 217 | Closure | |
| Agere Systems | Allentown | 200 | Layoff | |
| The HON | Williamsport | 186 | Closure | |
| Russell-Stanley | Allentown | 112 | Closure | |
| SSI Services | Moon Township | 94 | Layoff | |
| Doane Pet Care | Dublin | 93 | Layoff | |
| Cardinal Distribution | Allentown | 92 | Closure | |
| Hanover Direct | Hanover | 82 | Closure | |
| ExxonMobil-Bakerstown | Gibsonia | 74 | Closure | |
| Bradford Electronics | Bradford | 72 | Closure | |
| GENCO Distribution System | Mechanicsburg | 60 | Closure | |
| King World Video Services | Pittsburgh | 60 | Closure |
The biggest impact was at Agere Systems at its Breinigsville facility, reporting 390 affected workers. Agere Systems followed with 259 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This data points to a mixed picture for Pennsylvania's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. The Manufacturing sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Pennsylvania. 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 Pennsylvania WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.