Washington Layoffs — March 2016
Employers in Washington posted 12 WARN Act notices in March 2016, affecting an estimated 854 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to 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 saw the heaviest impact with 385 workers across 2 notices. On a related front, 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 bore the heaviest burden, 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 |
The largest notice was filed by 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.
The trends suggest 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.