New York Layoffs — November 2009
Employers in New York posted 19 WARN Act notices in November 2009, affecting an estimated 5,351 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to October and up 50% versus November 2008. The average filing covered 282 workers, with 10 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 1 | 4,142 |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 202 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 180 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 105 |
| Real Estate | 1 | 103 |
| Agriculture | 1 | 41 |
| Professional Services | 1 | 1 |
The Transportation sector saw the heaviest impact with 4,142 workers across 1 notice. On a related front, Manufacturing reported 202 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Onondaga | 1 | 4,142 |
| New York | 5 | 352 |
| Clinton | 1 | 200 |
| Erie | 2 | 182 |
| Suffolk | 2 | 135 |
Onondaga felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 77% of all affected workers with 4,142 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Syracuse | 1 | 4,142 |
| New York | 5 | 352 |
| Rouses Point | 1 | 200 |
| Buffalo | 1 | 180 |
| Brewster | 1 | 105 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 10 | 4,835 |
| Layoff | 9 | 516 |
The high proportion of closures (90% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in New York's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Penn Traffic Company/P&C Quality Stores/Warehouses | Syracuse | 4,142 | Closure | |
| Time | New York | 280 | Layoff | |
| Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (now known as Pfizer) | Rouses Point | 200 | Closure | |
| St. Francis Geriatric & Health Care Services | Buffalo | 180 | Closure | |
| RJE Telecom | Brewster | 105 | Layoff | |
| Zip Realty | Melville | 103 | Closure | |
| Worldwide Flight Services | Jamaica | 93 | Layoff | |
| Family Support Systems Unlimited | Bronx | 92 | Closure | |
| Farmers Group Inc. (Field Operation Branch) | Albany | 41 | Closure | |
| Nortel Networks | Bohemia | 32 | Closure | |
| CNN America | New York | 28 | Closure | |
| Dresdner Kleinwort Securities | New York | 21 | Layoff | |
| Lowe New York (Office Facility) | New York | 15 | Closure | |
| Sun Microsystems | New York | 8 | Layoff | |
| Eastman Kodak Company (Company Office) | Rochester | 5 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by The Penn Traffic Company/P&C Quality Stores/Warehouses at its Syracuse facility, reporting 4,142 affected workers. Time followed with 280 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the New York labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Transportation 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.