Maryland Layoffs — February 2002
Employers in Maryland posted 5 WARN Act notices in February 2002, affecting an estimated 575 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to January and up 25% versus February 2001. The average filing covered 115 workers, with 3 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1 | 225 |
| Wholesale Trade | 2 | 154 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 146 |
| Education | 1 | 50 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 225 workers across 1 notice. On a related front, Wholesale Trade reported 154 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Howard | 3 | 379 |
| Anne Arundel | 1 | 146 |
| Baltimore | 1 | 50 |
Howard saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 66% of all affected workers with 379 workers across 3 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Elkridge | 1 | 225 |
| Linthicum | 1 | 146 |
| Columbia | 1 | 110 |
| Owings Mills | 1 | 50 |
| Savage | 1 | 44 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 2 | 371 |
| Closure | 3 | 204 |
Closures accounted for 35% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-P-A Transport | Elkridge | 225 | Layoff | |
| Ciena | Linthicum | 146 | Layoff | |
| Daimler Chrysler | Columbia | 110 | Closure | |
| Aether Systems | Owings Mills | 50 | Closure | |
| Alliant Foodservice | Savage | 44 | Closure |
The largest notice was filed by A-P-A Transport at its Elkridge facility, reporting 225 affected workers. Ciena followed with 146 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Maryland 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 Maryland. 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 Maryland WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.