South Carolina Layoffs — March 2016
Employers in South Carolina posted 4 WARN Act notices in March 2016, affecting an estimated 656 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to February and up 5864% versus March 2015. The average filing covered 164 workers, with 3 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3 | 583 |
| Retail | 1 | 73 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 583 workers across 3 notices. On a related front, Retail reported 73 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Florence | 1 | 319 |
| Berkeley | 1 | 180 |
| Orangeburg | 1 | 84 |
| Aiken | 1 | 73 |
Florence saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 49% of all affected workers with 319 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Florence | 1 | 319 |
| Goose Creek | 1 | 180 |
| Orangeburg | 1 | 84 |
| Aiken | 1 | 73 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 3 | 572 |
| Layoff | 1 | 84 |
The high proportion of closures (87% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in South Carolina's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esab | Florence | 319 | Closure | |
| Honeywell | Goose Creek | 180 | Closure | |
| Husqvarna Group | Orangeburg | 84 | Layoff | |
| Dillard’s | Aiken | 73 | Closure |
The largest notice was filed by Esab at its Florence facility, reporting 319 affected workers. Honeywell followed with 180 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the South Carolina 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 South Carolina. 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 South Carolina WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.