Kansas Layoffs — November 2008
Employers in Kansas filed 7 WARN Act notices in November 2008, impacting roughly 1,408 workers — representing a notable rise over October and up 272% versus November 2007. The average filing covered 201 workers, with 0 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 4 | 772 |
| Retail | 1 | 425 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 121 |
| Transportation | 1 | 90 |
The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 772 workers across 4 notices. In a parallel development, Retail reported 425 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Sedgwick | 2 | 487 |
| Shawnee | 1 | 425 |
| Doniphan | 1 | 185 |
| Johnson | 1 | 121 |
| Neosho | 1 | 100 |
Sedgwick felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 35% of all affected workers with 487 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Wichita | 2 | 487 |
| Topeka | 1 | 425 |
| Elwood | 1 | 185 |
| Leawood | 1 | 121 |
| Chanute | 1 | 100 |
Layoff Type Analysis
Layoff type classification was not available for filings in Kansas this month.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawker Beechcraft | Wichita | 450 | ||
| Payless Shoesource | Topeka | 425 | ||
| Snorkel | Elwood | 185 | ||
| BlueCross BlueShield of Kansas City | Leawood | 121 | ||
| Nu Wa Industries | Chanute | 100 | ||
| ABX Air | Kansas City | 90 | ||
| Boeing | Wichita | 37 |
The single largest action involved Hawker Beechcraft at its Wichita facility, reporting 450 affected workers. Payless Shoesource followed with 425 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The data underscores mounting pressure on the Kansas 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 Kansas. 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 Kansas WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.