Virginia Layoffs — December 2015
Employers in Virginia submitted 5 WARN Act notices in December 2015, putting at risk an estimated 1,755 workers — up substantially from November and up 466% versus December 2014. The average filing covered 351 workers, with 1 closure among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 2 | 1,475 |
| Information & Technology | 2 | 185 |
| Retail | 1 | 95 |
The Manufacturing sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 1,475 workers across 2 notices. Separately, Information & Technology reported 185 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Newport News City | 1 | 741 |
| Pulaski | 1 | 734 |
| Arlington | 1 | 114 |
| Chesterfield | 1 | 95 |
| Alexandria City | 1 | 71 |
Newport News City bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 42% of all affected workers with 741 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Newport News | 1 | 741 |
| Dublin | 1 | 734 |
| Arlington | 1 | 114 |
| Richmond | 1 | 95 |
| Alexandria | 1 | 71 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 4 | 1,660 |
| Closure | 1 | 95 |
Closures accounted for 5% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newport News Shipbuilding | Newport News | 741 | Layoff | |
| Volvo Group Trucks Operations | Dublin | 734 | Layoff | |
| Alion Science and Technology | Arlington | 114 | Layoff | |
| Pleasants Hardware | Richmond | 95 | Closure | |
| SSC Service Solutions | Alexandria | 71 | Layoff |
Topping the list was Newport News Shipbuilding at its Newport News facility, reporting 741 affected workers. Volvo Group Trucks Operations followed with 734 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
These figures highlight 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.