Washington Layoffs — May 2008
Employers in Washington posted 3 WARN Act notices in May 2008, affecting an estimated 198 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to April and up 312% versus May 2007. The average filing covered 66 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1 | 112 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 84 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 2 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 112 workers across 1 notice. On a related front, Finance & Insurance reported 84 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| King | 3 | 198 |
King was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 100% of all affected workers with 198 workers across 3 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Kent | 1 | 112 |
| Bellevue | 2 | 86 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 2 | 196 |
| Layoff | 1 | 2 |
The high proportion of closures (99% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Washington's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball | Kent | 112 | Closure | |
| Washington Mutual | Bellevue | 84 | Closure | |
| Sun Microsystems | Bellevue | 2 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Ball at its Kent facility, reporting 112 affected workers. Washington Mutual followed with 84 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 Manufacturing 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.