Alabama Layoffs — March 2009
Employers in Alabama logged 40 WARN Act notices in March 2009, involving roughly 2,646 workers — climbing above February and up 104% versus March 2008. The average filing covered 66 workers, with 38 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | 15 | 1,163 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 80 |
| Manufacturing | 1 | 6 |
The Retail sector dominated layoff filings with 1,163 workers across 15 notices. Meanwhile, Healthcare reported 80 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Jefferson | 10 | 654 |
| Mobile | 7 | 573 |
| Tuscaloosa | 6 | 458 |
| Baldwin | 4 | 264 |
| Shelby | 2 | 99 |
Jefferson saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 25% of all affected workers with 654 workers across 10 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile | 5 | 469 |
| Tuscaloosa | 5 | 400 |
| Birmingham | 4 | 291 |
| Hoover | 3 | 182 |
| Saraland | 2 | 104 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 38 | 2,560 |
| Layoff | 2 | 86 |
The high proportion of closures (97% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Alabama's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armstrong World Industries, Inc.. (3) | Mobile | 172 | Closure | |
| Bruno’S | Mobile | 110 | Closure | |
| Bruno'S Supermarkets | Hoover | 106 | Closure | |
| Bruno’S Supermarkets | Tuscaloosa | 106 | Closure | |
| Bruno’S Supermarkets | Tuscaloosa | 103 | Closure | |
| Bruno'S Supermarkets | Fairhope | 93 | Closure | |
| Bruno’S Supermarkets | Birmingham | 89 | Closure | |
| Bruno’S Supermarkets | Birmingham | 87 | Closure | |
| Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital | Phenix City | 80 | Layoff | |
| Bruno'S | Mobile | 77 | Closure | |
| Sears Holdings | Saraland | 74 | Closure | |
| Food World | Mc Calla | 74 | Closure | |
| Bruno'S Supermarkets | Birmingham | 73 | Closure | |
| Food World | Tuscaloosa | 72 | Closure | |
| Bruno’S Supermarkets | Hoover | 70 | Closure |
The biggest impact was at Armstrong World Industries, Inc.. (3) at its Mobile facility, reporting 172 affected workers. Bruno’S followed with 110 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
This data points to mounting pressure on the Alabama labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Retail sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Alabama. 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 Alabama WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.