Pennsylvania Layoffs — January 2002
Employers in Pennsylvania recorded 30 WARN Act notices in January 2002, covering approximately 3,952 workers — marking a sharp increase from December and up 8% versus January 2001. The average filing covered 132 workers, with 20 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 16 | 1,736 |
| Utilities | 1 | 970 |
| Retail | 7 | 615 |
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 324 |
| Information & Technology | 3 | 274 |
| Transportation | 1 | 33 |
The Manufacturing sector accounted for the largest share of job cuts with 1,736 workers across 16 notices. At the same time, Utilities reported 970 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Erie | 5 | 1,318 |
| Berks | 3 | 472 |
| Somerset | 3 | 293 |
| Philadelphia | 4 | 288 |
| Adams | 1 | 211 |
Erie bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 33% of all affected workers with 1,318 workers across 5 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Erie | 2 | 1,003 |
| Reading | 3 | 352 |
| Philadelphia | 4 | 288 |
| Somerset | 2 | 246 |
| East Berlin | 1 | 211 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 10 | 2,027 |
| Closure | 20 | 1,925 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GE Transportation Systems (General Electric Company) [Erie Plant] | Erie | 970 | Layoff | |
| Tyco Electronics | East Berlin | 211 | Layoff | |
| SPX Copes Vulcan | Lake City | 200 | Closure | |
| Hecht's (Berkshire Mall Strawbridge) | Wyomissing | 195 | Closure | |
| Grumman Olson Industries, Inc. (U.S. Postal Service Project) | Montgomery | 186 | Layoff | |
| Champion Parts (Beech Creek Facility) | Beech Creek | 181 | Closure | |
| Promistar Bank | Johnstown | 177 | Layoff | |
| Bender Shoe | Somerset | 150 | Closure | |
| Motion Control Industries | Ridgway | 149 | Closure | |
| Main Street Bank | Reading | 147 | Layoff | |
| Carpenter Technology | Reading | 130 | Layoff | |
| BBA Nonwovens | Lewisburg | 127 | Closure | |
| Summit Plaza Giant Eagle | Somerset | 96 | Closure | |
| Gehl | Lebanon | 95 | Closure | |
| Acme Markets, Inc. (Store #7718) | Philadelphia | 91 | Closure |
Leading the list was GE Transportation Systems (General Electric Company) [Erie Plant] at its Erie facility, reporting 970 affected workers. Tyco Electronics followed with 211 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The filings reflect 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.