Washington Layoffs — May 2005
Employers in Washington posted 7 WARN Act notices in May 2005, affecting an estimated 967 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to April and up 1760% versus May 2004. The average filing covered 138 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 2 | 552 |
| Information & Technology | 3 | 182 |
| Manufacturing | 1 | 135 |
| Education | 1 | 98 |
The Transportation sector saw the heaviest impact with 552 workers across 2 notices. On a related front, Information & Technology reported 182 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| King | 5 | 940 |
| Snohomish | 2 | 27 |
King was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 97% of all affected workers with 940 workers across 5 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | 2 | 575 |
| Bellevue | 1 | 155 |
| Kirkland | 1 | 135 |
| Redmond | 1 | 75 |
| Bothell | 2 | 27 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 5 | 714 |
| Closure | 2 | 253 |
Closures accounted for 26% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | Seattle | 477 | Layoff | |
| American Commercial Security Services | Bellevue | 155 | Closure | |
| Rockwell Collins | Kirkland | 135 | Layoff | |
| Durham School Services | Seattle | 98 | Closure | |
| Laidlaw Transit Services | Redmond | 75 | Layoff | |
| Cingular Wireless | Bothell | 15 | Layoff | |
| Cingular Wireless | Bothell | 12 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Alaska Airlines at its Seattle facility, reporting 477 affected workers. American Commercial Security Services followed with 155 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Washington labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Transportation sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Washington. 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 Washington WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.