Pennsylvania Layoffs — December 2002
Employers in Pennsylvania logged 15 WARN Act notices in December 2002, involving roughly 1,773 workers — falling below November and down 37% versus December 2001. The average filing covered 118 workers, with 8 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 8 | 1,155 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 200 |
| Transportation | 3 | 190 |
| Utilities | 1 | 97 |
| Professional Services | 1 | 71 |
| Mining & Energy | 1 | 60 |
The Manufacturing sector dominated layoff filings with 1,155 workers across 8 notices. Meanwhile, Finance & Insurance reported 200 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Schuylkill | 2 | 460 |
| Montgomery | 2 | 260 |
| Union | 1 | 186 |
| Erie | 2 | 168 |
| Philadelphia | 1 | 152 |
Schuylkill absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 26% of all affected workers with 460 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Tamaqua | 2 | 460 |
| Norristown | 1 | 200 |
| Lewisburg | 1 | 186 |
| Philadelphia | 1 | 152 |
| Glen Rock | 1 | 148 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 7 | 1,157 |
| Closure | 8 | 616 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sara Lee Underwear (J.E. Morgan Knitting Mill) [Textile Operations] | Tamaqua | 420 | Layoff | |
| Commonwealth Bank | Norristown | 200 | Layoff | |
| Sanmina-SCI | Lewisburg | 186 | Closure | |
| U.S. Airways (Philadelphia International Airport) | Philadelphia | 152 | Layoff | |
| Stewart Connector Systems | Glen Rock | 148 | Layoff | |
| McInnes Steel | Corry | 102 | Layoff | |
| Magnetics (Division of Spang & Company) | East Butler | 100 | Layoff | |
| Energy Convertors, Inc. (Encon) | Dallas | 97 | Closure | |
| Danaher Linear Motion Systems | Lancaster | 93 | Closure | |
| ManagedComp | Radnor | 71 | Closure | |
| DT-Precision Assembly (Assembly Machines, Inc.) | Erie | 66 | Closure | |
| Delafoil | Pottstown | 60 | Closure | |
| Sara Lee Underwear (J.E. Morgan Knitting Mill) [Sew/Fold Department] | Tamaqua | 40 | Closure | |
| U.S. Airways (Pittsburgh International Airport) | Pittsburgh | 35 | Layoff | |
| SUPERVALU Distribution Center | Belle Vernon | 3 | Closure |
The biggest impact was at Sara Lee Underwear (J.E. Morgan Knitting Mill) [Textile Operations] at its Tamaqua facility, reporting 420 affected workers. Commonwealth Bank followed with 200 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This is the third consecutive month of declining layoff activity.
This data points to a easing in workforce disruptions across Pennsylvania, with filings falling below both recent and year-ago levels. 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.