Kentucky Layoffs — September 2019
Employers in Kentucky posted 4 WARN Act notices in September 2019, affecting an estimated 761 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to August and up 282% versus September 2018. The average filing covered 190 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3 | 592 |
| Utilities | 1 | 169 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 592 workers across 3 notices. On a related front, Utilities reported 169 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Boyd | 2 | 520 |
| McLean | 1 | 169 |
| Nelson | 1 | 72 |
Boyd saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 68% of all affected workers with 520 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Ashland | 1 | 260 |
| Boyd | 1 | 260 |
| Owensboro | 1 | 169 |
| Louisville | 1 | 72 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 2 | 429 |
| Layoff | 1 | 72 |
The high proportion of closures (56% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Kentucky's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AK Steel -Ashland Works | Ashland | 260 | Closure | |
| AK Steel Holding | Boyd | 260 | ||
| Pennyrile Energy LLC -RiverEdge Mine -Rhino Resource Partners | Owensboro | 169 | Closure | |
| INOAC Packaging Group | Louisville | 72 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by AK Steel -Ashland Works at its Ashland facility, reporting 260 affected workers. AK Steel Holding followed with 260 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Kentucky 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 Kentucky. 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 Kentucky WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.