Hawaii Layoffs — March 2020
Employers in Hawaii posted 70 WARN Act notices in March 2020, affecting an estimated 26,352 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to February and up 15968% versus March 2019. The average filing covered 376 workers, with 5 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation & Food | 50 | 20,867 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 5 | 1,359 |
| Government | 2 | 1,205 |
| Transportation | 2 | 1,064 |
| Professional Services | 1 | 864 |
| Wholesale Trade | 1 | 437 |
| Manufacturing | 4 | 231 |
| Retail | 1 | 102 |
The Accommodation & Food sector saw the heaviest impact with 20,867 workers across 50 notices. On a related front, Arts & Entertainment reported 1,359 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Honolulu | 39 | 15,972 |
| Maui | 18 | 7,313 |
| Hawaii | 6 | 2,288 |
| Kauai | 6 | 757 |
| Kalawao | 1 | 22 |
Honolulu saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 61% of all affected workers with 15,972 workers across 39 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Honolulu | 36 | 14,318 |
| Maui | 10 | 4,426 |
| Wailea | 3 | 1,674 |
| Kapolei | 2 | 1,048 |
| Kamuela | 1 | 740 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 65 | 25,854 |
| Closure | 5 | 498 |
Closures accounted for 2% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheraton Waikiki Hotel | Honolulu | 3,000 | Layoff | |
| Hilton Hawaiian Village | Honolulu | 1,880 | Layoff | |
| Sheraton Waikiki Hotel & Central Resources Team | Maui | 1,188 | Layoff | |
| Grand Wailea | Wailea | 1,150 | Layoff | |
| YMCA of Honolulu | Honolulu | 1,101 | Layoff | |
| Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea | Maui | 1,023 | Layoff | |
| Pride of America Shipholding | Honolulu | 985 | Layoff | |
| Outrigger Hotels Hawaii | Honolulu | 968 | Layoff | |
| Four Seasons Resort Oahu | Kapolei | 867 | Layoff | |
| Kobayashi Sugita & Goda | Honolulu | 864 | Layoff | |
| Hilton Waikoloa Village | Kamuela | 740 | Layoff | |
| Four Seasons Resort Hualalai | Kailua-Kona | 680 | Layoff | |
| Ritz Carlton Kapalua | Lahaina | 653 | Layoff | |
| Mauna Lani | Kohala Coast | 651 | Layoff | |
| Moana Surfrider Hotel | Maui | 632 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Sheraton Waikiki Hotel at its Honolulu facility, reporting 3,000 affected workers. Hilton Hawaiian Village followed with 1,880 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Hawaii labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Accommodation & Food sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Hawaii. 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 Hawaii WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.