North Carolina Layoffs — October 2016
Employers in North Carolina posted 9 WARN Act notices in October 2016, affecting an estimated 1,318 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to September and up 98% versus October 2015. The average filing covered 146 workers, with 4 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 5 | 624 |
| Information & Technology | 3 | 369 |
| Retail | 1 | 325 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 624 workers across 5 notices. On a related front, Information & Technology reported 369 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Mecklenburg | 4 | 756 |
| Guilford | 1 | 325 |
| Alamance | 1 | 95 |
| Forsyth | 1 | 80 |
| Burke | 1 | 37 |
Mecklenburg was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 57% of all affected workers with 756 workers across 4 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | 4 | 756 |
| High Point | 1 | 325 |
| Goldsboro | 1 | 95 |
| Winston-Salem | 1 | 80 |
| Morganton | 1 | 37 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 5 | 661 |
| Closure | 4 | 657 |
Closures accounted for 50% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sears Holdings | High Point | 325 | Closure | |
| Generics Bideo II, LLC DBA Qualitest Pharmaceuticals, Par Pharmaceutical | Charlotte | 282 | Layoff | |
| Charter Communications | Charlotte | 258 | Layoff | |
| Jacobsen | Charlotte | 200 | Closure | |
| AT&T | Goldsboro | 95 | Closure | |
| Caterpillar | Winston-Salem | 80 | Layoff | |
| Northwest Furniture Express | Morganton | 37 | Closure | |
| Arrow International, Inc. (Teleflex, Inc.) | Asheboro | 25 | Layoff | |
| AT&T Mobility Services | Charlotte | 16 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Sears Holdings at its High Point facility, reporting 325 affected workers. Generics Bideo II, LLC DBA Qualitest Pharmaceuticals, Par Pharmaceutical followed with 282 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the North 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 North 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 North Carolina WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.