Virginia Layoffs — January 2016
Employers in Virginia filed 10 WARN Act notices in January 2016, impacting roughly 1,889 workers — representing a notable rise over December and up 217% versus January 2015. The average filing covered 189 workers, with 6 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3 | 820 |
| Retail | 4 | 420 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 380 |
| Professional Services | 1 | 184 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 85 |
The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 820 workers across 3 notices. In a parallel development, Retail reported 420 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Norfolk City | 3 | 855 |
| Hampton City | 3 | 549 |
| Buchanan | 1 | 184 |
| Chesterfield | 1 | 135 |
| Lynchburg City | 1 | 85 |
Norfolk City saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 45% of all affected workers with 855 workers across 3 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Norfolk | 3 | 855 |
| Hampton | 3 | 549 |
| Vansant | 1 | 184 |
| Richmond | 1 | 135 |
| Lynchburg | 1 | 85 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 4 | 1,200 |
| Closure | 6 | 689 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAE Systems | Norfolk | 500 | Layoff | |
| Sprint | Hampton | 380 | Layoff | |
| General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk | Norfolk | 260 | Layoff | |
| Sykes Enterprises | Vansant | 184 | Closure | |
| Macy's | Richmond | 135 | Closure | |
| Macy's | Hampton | 109 | Closure | |
| Macy's | Norfolk | 95 | Closure | |
| Nationwide Mutual Insurance | Lynchburg | 85 | Closure | |
| Macy's | Glen Allen | 81 | Closure | |
| General Dynamics Mission Systems | Hampton | 60 | Layoff |
The single largest action involved BAE Systems at its Norfolk facility, reporting 500 affected workers. Sprint followed with 380 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The data underscores 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.