Maryland Layoffs — March 2002
Employers in Maryland filed 10 WARN Act notices in March 2002, impacting roughly 1,300 workers — representing a notable rise over February and up 338% versus March 2001. The average filing covered 130 workers, with 8 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3 | 661 |
| Real Estate | 6 | 460 |
| Retail | 1 | 179 |
The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 661 workers across 3 notices. In a parallel development, Real Estate reported 460 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Anne Arundel | 3 | 583 |
| Howard | 1 | 179 |
| Montgomery | 1 | 148 |
| Harford | 2 | 120 |
| Charles | 1 | 100 |
Anne Arundel bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 45% of all affected workers with 583 workers across 3 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Linthicum | 2 | 513 |
| Columbia | 1 | 179 |
| Bethesda | 1 | 148 |
| Waldorf | 1 | 100 |
| La Vale | 1 | 90 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 8 | 787 |
| Layoff | 2 | 513 |
The high proportion of closures (61% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Maryland's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Airways | Linthicum | 457 | Layoff | |
| Kmart | Columbia | 179 | Closure | |
| Armillaire Technologies | Bethesda | 148 | Closure | |
| Kmart | Waldorf | 100 | Closure | |
| Kmart | La Vale | 90 | Closure | |
| Kmart | Forestville | 80 | Closure | |
| Kmart | Laurel | 70 | Closure | |
| Cleaning Solutions Group | Havre De Grace | 60 | Closure | |
| Kmart | Aberdeen | 60 | Closure | |
| Us Airways | Linthicum | 56 | Layoff |
The single largest action involved US Airways at its Linthicum facility, reporting 457 affected workers. Kmart followed with 179 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The data underscores 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.