Washington Layoffs — March 2016
Employers in Washington submitted 12 WARN Act notices in March 2016, putting at risk an estimated 854 workers — up substantially from February and up 2035% versus March 2015. The average filing covered 71 workers, with 11 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Professional Services | 2 | 385 |
| Retail | 5 | 335 |
| Education | 2 | 76 |
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 56 |
| Manufacturing | 1 | 2 |
The Professional Services sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 385 workers across 2 notices. Separately, Retail reported 335 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| King | 6 | 528 |
| Pierce | 2 | 138 |
| Whatcom | 2 | 120 |
| Clallam | 1 | 67 |
| Clark | 1 | 1 |
King felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 62% of all affected workers with 528 workers across 6 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Redmond | 2 | 327 |
| Bellingham | 2 | 120 |
| Puyallup | 1 | 78 |
| Seattle | 2 | 76 |
| Federal Way | 1 | 71 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 11 | 853 |
The high proportion of closures (100% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Washington's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xerox Commercial Solutioins | Redmond | 325 | Closure | |
| Haggen Food & Pharmacy | Puyallup | 78 | Closure | |
| Apollo Education Group, Inc. (AEG) | Seattle | 72 | Closure | |
| Haggen Food & Pharmacy | Federal Way | 71 | Closure | |
| Haggen Food & Pharmacy | Port Angeles | 67 | Closure | |
| Albertson's | Bellingham | 65 | Closure | |
| Locating | Lakewood | 60 | Closure | |
| Sterling Life Insurance | Bellingham | 55 | Closure | |
| Haggen Food & Pharmacy | Burien | 54 | Closure | |
| University of Phoenix | Seattle | 4 | Closure | |
| Mycom North America | Redmond | 2 | Closure | |
| Wells Fargo | Vancouver | 1 |
Topping the list was Xerox Commercial Solutioins at its Redmond facility, reporting 325 affected workers. Haggen Food & Pharmacy followed with 78 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
These figures highlight mounting pressure on the Washington labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Professional Services sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Washington. 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 Washington WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.