New York Layoffs — February 2009
Employers in New York logged 47 WARN Act notices in February 2009, involving roughly 6,914 workers — climbing above January and up 538% versus February 2008. The average filing covered 147 workers, with 33 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 9 | 3,131 |
| Retail | 4 | 953 |
| Information & Technology | 5 | 561 |
| Manufacturing | 10 | 439 |
| Transportation | 2 | 348 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 161 |
| Real Estate | 1 | 57 |
| Accommodation & Food | 1 | 39 |
The Healthcare sector dominated layoff filings with 3,131 workers across 9 notices. Meanwhile, Retail reported 953 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Queens | 8 | 2,890 |
| New York | 15 | 1,665 |
| Hempstead | 4 | 1,086 |
| Chautauqua | 3 | 389 |
| Monroe | 10 | 314 |
Queens felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 42% of all affected workers with 2,890 workers across 8 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 12 | 1,654 |
| Elmhurst | 2 | 1,573 |
| Jamaica | 4 | 1,271 |
| Falconer | 3 | 389 |
| Uniondale | 1 | 378 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 31 | 5,887 |
| Layoff | 13 | 819 |
| Temporary Closure | 2 | 113 |
| Temporary Layoff | 1 | 95 |
The high proportion of closures (87% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in New York's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caritas Health Care, Inc. @ St John's Queens Hospital | Elmhurst | 1,542 | Closure | |
| Caritas Health Care, Inc. @ Mary Immaculate Hospital | Jamaica | 1,045 | Closure | |
| The Caring Neighbor | New York | 567 | Closure | |
| Fortunoff Holdings, LLC Corporate Headquarters | Uniondale | 378 | Closure | |
| Morgan Stanley (Various NYC sites) | New York | 369 | Layoff | |
| Fortunoff Holdings, LLC Retail Facility | Westbury | 360 | Closure | |
| Sysco Jamestown | Falconer | 276 | Closure | |
| MT Transportation Logistics Service (Bethpage Operation) | Bethpage | 228 | Closure | |
| New York-Presbyterian Community Health Plan | New York | 181 | Closure | |
| Fortunoff Holdings, LLC Retail Facility | White Plains | 181 | Closure | |
| Goldman, Sachs & | New York | 161 | Layoff | |
| Northeast Data Services | Elmira | 155 | Closure | |
| Caritas Health Care, Inc. @ Monsignor Fitzpatrick Skilled Nursing Pavilion | Jamaica | 130 | Closure | |
| Fortunoff Holdings, LLC Warehouse Facility | Garden City | 120 | Closure | |
| Eastman Kodak Company - Kodak Manitou | Rochester | 108 | Layoff |
The biggest impact was at Caritas Health Care, Inc. @ St John's Queens Hospital at its Elmhurst facility, reporting 1,542 affected workers. Caritas Health Care, Inc. @ Mary Immaculate Hospital followed with 1,045 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
This data points to mounting pressure on the New York labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Healthcare sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by New York. 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 New York WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.