Wisconsin Layoffs — July 2017
Employers in Wisconsin reported 6 WARN Act notices in July 2017, displacing an estimated 658 workers — signaling an acceleration from June and up 129% versus July 2016. The average filing covered 110 workers, with 3 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | 3 | 467 |
| Manufacturing | 1 | 76 |
| Transportation | 1 | 66 |
| Professional Services | 1 | 49 |
The Retail sector topped the list of affected industries with 467 workers across 3 notices. Notably, Manufacturing reported 76 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Brown | 1 | 371 |
| Milwaukee | 4 | 238 |
| Dane | 1 | 49 |
Brown saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 56% of all affected workers with 371 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Deforest | 1 | 371 |
| Greendale | 2 | 96 |
| Oak Creek | 1 | 76 |
| Franklin | 1 | 66 |
| Madison | 1 | 49 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 3 | 496 |
The high proportion of closures (75% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Wisconsin's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gander Mountain | Deforest | 371 | Closure | |
| Sears | Greendale | 88 | ||
| Black Bear Bottling Group | Oak Creek | 76 | Closure | |
| The Garvey Group | Franklin | 66 | ||
| The Carlson | Madison | 49 | Closure | |
| Sears | Greendale | 8 |
The most significant filing came from Gander Mountain at its Deforest facility, reporting 371 affected workers. Sears followed with 88 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The numbers illustrate mounting pressure on the Wisconsin labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Retail sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Wisconsin. 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 Wisconsin WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.