Washington Layoffs — February 2009
Employers in Washington filed 6 WARN Act notices in February 2009, impacting roughly 2,403 workers — representing a notable rise over January and up 125% versus February 2008. The average filing covered 400 workers, with 4 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3 | 1,802 |
| Information & Technology | 2 | 519 |
| Retail | 1 | 82 |
The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 1,802 workers across 3 notices. In a parallel development, Information & Technology reported 519 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| King | 4 | 1,900 |
| Spokane | 1 | 353 |
| Whatcom | 1 | 150 |
King saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 79% of all affected workers with 1,900 workers across 4 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | 2 | 1,449 |
| Redmond | 1 | 369 |
| Spokane Valley | 1 | 353 |
| Bellingham | 1 | 150 |
| Kent | 1 | 82 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 2 | 1,449 |
| Closure | 4 | 954 |
Closures accounted for 40% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing | Seattle | 781 | Layoff | |
| Boeing | Seattle | 668 | Layoff | |
| TTM Technologies | Redmond | 369 | Closure | |
| General Dynamics | Spokane Valley | 353 | Closure | |
| Results Bellingham | Bellingham | 150 | Closure | |
| Best Buy | Kent | 82 | Closure |
The single largest action involved Boeing at its Seattle facility, reporting 781 affected workers. Boeing followed with 668 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The data underscores 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.