Washington Layoffs — January 2006
Employers in Washington posted 10 WARN Act notices in January 2006, affecting an estimated 849 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to December and up 62% versus January 2005. The average filing covered 85 workers, with 4 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 1 | 275 |
| Manufacturing | 3 | 222 |
| Retail | 2 | 128 |
| Information & Technology | 3 | 126 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 98 |
The Construction sector saw the heaviest impact with 275 workers across 1 notice. On a related front, Manufacturing reported 222 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Benton | 1 | 275 |
| Clark | 2 | 136 |
| Clallam | 1 | 98 |
| King | 1 | 90 |
| Pierce | 1 | 86 |
Benton felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 32% of all affected workers with 275 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Richland | 1 | 275 |
| Vancouver | 1 | 104 |
| Port Angeles | 1 | 98 |
| Federal Way | 1 | 90 |
| Tacoma | 1 | 86 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 6 | 533 |
| Closure | 4 | 316 |
Closures accounted for 37% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bechtel National | Richland | 275 | Layoff | |
| Panasonic | Vancouver | 104 | Layoff | |
| Virginia Mason Clinics | Port Angeles | 98 | Closure | |
| Unicco | Federal Way | 90 | Closure | |
| Schoeller Arca Systems | Tacoma | 86 | Layoff | |
| Sinnett's MarketPlace | Longview | 65 | Closure | |
| OfficeMax home Plate | Elma | 63 | Closure | |
| Cingular Wireless | Bothell | 34 | Layoff | |
| Georgia Pacific | Camas | 32 | Layoff | |
| Cingular Wireless | Bothell | 2 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Bechtel National at its Richland facility, reporting 275 affected workers. Panasonic followed with 104 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Washington labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Construction 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.