Washington Layoffs — May 2017
Employers in Washington posted 4 WARN Act notices in May 2017, affecting an estimated 1,253 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to April and up 21% versus May 2016. The average filing covered 313 workers, with 1 closure among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 1 | 949 |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 259 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 45 |
The Transportation sector saw the heaviest impact with 949 workers across 1 notice. On a related front, Manufacturing reported 259 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| King | 4 | 1,253 |
King was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 100% of all affected workers with 1,253 workers across 4 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| SeaTac | 1 | 949 |
| Seattle | 2 | 290 |
| Woodinville | 1 | 14 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 1 | 45 |
| Closure | 1 | 14 |
Closures accounted for 1% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Menzies Aviation | SeaTac | 949 | ||
| Boeing | Seattle | 245 | ||
| Electronic Arts | Seattle | 45 | Layoff | |
| Spectrum Glass | Woodinville | 14 | Closure |
The largest notice was filed by Menzies Aviation at its SeaTac facility, reporting 949 affected workers. Boeing followed with 245 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Washington labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Transportation 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.