Virginia Layoffs — May 2014
Employers in Virginia reported 8 WARN Act notices in May 2014, displacing an estimated 814 workers — signaling an acceleration from April and up 74% versus May 2013. The average filing covered 102 workers, with 3 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Information & Technology | 2 | 241 |
| Transportation | 1 | 213 |
| Mining & Energy | 1 | 180 |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 130 |
| Accommodation & Food | 1 | 45 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 5 |
The Information & Technology sector topped the list of affected industries with 241 workers across 2 notices. Notably, Transportation reported 213 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Loudoun | 1 | 213 |
| Pulaski | 1 | 180 |
| Chesapeake | 1 | 172 |
| Chesterfield | 2 | 78 |
| Fairfax | 1 | 69 |
Loudoun felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 26% of all affected workers with 213 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Sterling | 1 | 213 |
| Pulaski | 1 | 180 |
| Cheseapeake | 1 | 172 |
| Chester | 1 | 73 |
| Fairfax | 1 | 69 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 5 | 520 |
| Closure | 3 | 294 |
Closures accounted for 36% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Aviation Services | Sterling | 213 | Layoff | |
| Caterpillar Global Mining America | Pulaski | 180 | Closure | |
| Cox Communications | Cheseapeake | 172 | Layoff | |
| Carl Zeiss Vision | Chester | 73 | Layoff | |
| Electronic Arts | Fairfax | 69 | Closure | |
| Northrop Grumman Coporation | Virginia Beach | 57 | Layoff | |
| Sodexo | Roanoke | 45 | Closure | |
| Bank of America | Richmond | 5 | Layoff |
The most significant filing came from U.S. Aviation Services at its Sterling facility, reporting 213 affected workers. Caterpillar Global Mining America followed with 180 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The numbers illustrate mounting pressure on the Virginia labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Information & Technology 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.