Virginia Layoffs — November 2012
Employers in Virginia posted 9 WARN Act notices in November 2012, affecting an estimated 1,401 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to October and up 645% versus November 2011. The average filing covered 156 workers, with 5 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3 | 806 |
| Professional Services | 3 | 371 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 139 |
| Retail | 2 | 85 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 806 workers across 3 notices. On a related front, Professional Services reported 371 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth City | 1 | 388 |
| Smyth | 1 | 280 |
| Chesapeake City | 1 | 216 |
| Chesterfield | 1 | 139 |
| Montgomery | 1 | 138 |
Portsmouth City felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 28% of all affected workers with 388 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth | 1 | 388 |
| Atkins | 1 | 280 |
| Chesapeake | 1 | 216 |
| Richmond | 1 | 139 |
| Christianburg | 1 | 138 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 5 | 1,025 |
| Layoff | 4 | 376 |
The high proportion of closures (73% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Virginia's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithfield | Portsmouth | 388 | Closure | |
| Masco Cabinetry | Atkins | 280 | Closure | |
| SERCO | Chesapeake | 216 | Layoff | |
| AGA Service Company DBA Allianz Global Assistance | Richmond | 139 | Closure | |
| JELD-WEN-rescinded | Christianburg | 138 | Closure | |
| Saic | Charlottesville | 80 | Layoff | |
| Target | Manasas | 80 | Closure | |
| SERCO | Harrisonburg | 75 | Layoff | |
| Sears | Lynchburg | 5 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Smithfield at its Portsmouth facility, reporting 388 affected workers. Masco Cabinetry followed with 280 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Virginia 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 Virginia. 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 Virginia WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.