Wisconsin Layoffs — May 2020
Employers in Wisconsin filed 14 WARN Act notices in May 2020, impacting roughly 1,697 workers — representing a pullback from April and up 664% versus May 2019. The average filing covered 121 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 6 | 974 |
| Other | 2 | 366 |
| Education | 1 | 110 |
| Healthcare | 2 | 106 |
| Retail | 1 | 71 |
| Mining & Energy | 2 | 70 |
The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 974 workers across 6 notices. In a parallel development, Other reported 366 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Racine | 2 | 750 |
| Marathon | 2 | 366 |
| Sheboygan | 1 | 121 |
| Manitowoc | 1 | 110 |
| Milwaukee | 2 | 106 |
Racine was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 44% of all affected workers with 750 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Sturtevant | 2 | 750 |
| Wausau | 2 | 366 |
| Sheboygan | 1 | 121 |
| Manitowoc | 1 | 110 |
| Greenfield | 2 | 106 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 3 | 308 |
| Closure | 2 | 160 |
Closures accounted for 9% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brp US | Sturtevant | 387 | ||
| BRP US - Revision 1 | Sturtevant | 363 | ||
| Footlocker.com/Eastbay - Revision 1 | Wausau | 187 | Layoff | |
| Footlocker.com/Eastbay - Revision 2 | Wausau | 179 | ||
| Wigwam Mills | Sheboygan | 121 | ||
| Holy Family College | Manitowoc | 110 | Closure | |
| Cascio Music Co. Inc. - Revision 2 | New Berlin | 71 | Layoff | |
| Advanced Pain Management - Revision 2 | Greenfield | 56 | ||
| Advanced Pain Management - Revision 1 | Greenfield | 50 | Layoff | |
| Foremost Farms USA | Chilton | 50 | Closure | |
| Badger Mining | Taylor | 38 | ||
| Covia | Tomah | 32 | ||
| Documation | Eau Claire | 28 | ||
| Alkar-Rapid Pak | Lodi | 25 |
The single largest action involved Brp US at its Sturtevant facility, reporting 387 affected workers. BRP US - Revision 1 followed with 363 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.