Wisconsin Layoffs — September 2019
Employers in Wisconsin filed 5 WARN Act notices in September 2019, impacting roughly 288 workers — representing a pullback from August and up 29% versus September 2018. The average filing covered 58 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3 | 171 |
| Retail | 2 | 117 |
The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 171 workers across 3 notices. In a parallel development, Retail reported 117 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Racine | 2 | 117 |
| Price | 1 | 108 |
| Outagamie | 1 | 32 |
| Waukesha | 1 | 31 |
Racine absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 41% of all affected workers with 117 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Park Falls | 1 | 108 |
| Burlington | 1 | 70 |
| Racine | 1 | 47 |
| Appleton | 1 | 32 |
| Sussex | 1 | 31 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 2 | 117 |
Closures accounted for 41% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flambeau River Papers | Park Falls | 108 | ||
| Richter Foods-Burlington | Burlington | 70 | Closure | |
| Transform KM | Racine | 47 | Closure | |
| Nestle | Appleton | 32 | ||
| Nestle | Sussex | 31 |
The single largest action involved Flambeau River Papers at its Park Falls facility, reporting 108 affected workers. Richter Foods-Burlington followed with 70 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This is the third consecutive month of declining layoff activity.
The data underscores a mixed picture for Wisconsin's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. The Manufacturing 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.