Pennsylvania Layoffs — August 2001
Employers in Pennsylvania posted 32 WARN Act notices in August 2001, affecting an estimated 5,467 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to July. The average filing covered 171 workers, with 17 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 18 | 3,759 |
| Information & Technology | 4 | 557 |
| Transportation | 1 | 294 |
| Finance & Insurance | 4 | 274 |
| Professional Services | 1 | 201 |
| Retail | 1 | 180 |
| Utilities | 1 | 75 |
| Wholesale Trade | 1 | 74 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 3,759 workers across 18 notices. On a related front, Information & Technology reported 557 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Lehigh | 3 | 1,095 |
| Berks | 2 | 710 |
| Allegheny | 5 | 585 |
| Blair | 2 | 559 |
| Lycoming | 1 | 336 |
Lehigh was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 20% of all affected workers with 1,095 workers across 3 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | 2 | 710 |
| Breinigsville | 1 | 555 |
| Allentown | 1 | 523 |
| Montoursville | 1 | 336 |
| Holllidaysburg | 1 | 294 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 15 | 2,785 |
| Closure | 17 | 2,682 |
Closures accounted for 49% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agere Systems | Reading | 636 | Layoff | |
| Agere Systems | Breinigsville | 555 | Layoff | |
| Agere Systems | Allentown | 523 | Layoff | |
| General Cable Industries | Montoursville | 336 | Closure | |
| Norfolk Southern Railway Company (Hollidaysburg Car Shops) | Holllidaysburg | 294 | Closure | |
| Westvaco Fine Papers Mill (Westvaco Corporation) | Tyrone | 265 | Closure | |
| Penco Products | Oaks | 241 | Closure | |
| WRS Motion Picture and Video Laboratory | Crafton | 240 | Layoff | |
| Guilford Mills, Inc. (Pine Grove Manufacturing Site) | Pine Grove | 232 | Layoff | |
| SalesPlus | Stroudsburg | 201 | Closure | |
| Shop Rite (Big V Supermarkets, Inc.) | Wilkes-Barre | 180 | Closure | |
| Edgewater Steel | Oakmont | 170 | Closure | |
| FiNet Technologies | Dunmore | 165 | Closure | |
| Huhtamaki Packaging Worldwide | Mt. Carmel | 155 | Closure | |
| 3M - Bristol Facility | Bristol | 140 | Closure |
The largest notice was filed by Agere Systems at its Reading facility, reporting 636 affected workers. Agere Systems followed with 555 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Pennsylvania labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. 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.