Washington Layoffs — January 2021
Employers in Washington posted 4 WARN Act notices in January 2021, affecting an estimated 221 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to December and down 70% versus January 2020. The average filing covered 55 workers, with 1 closure among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 1 | 95 |
| Utilities | 1 | 64 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 55 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 1 | 7 |
The Construction sector saw the heaviest impact with 95 workers across 1 notice. On a related front, Utilities reported 64 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Pierce | 1 | 95 |
| Lewis | 1 | 64 |
| King | 2 | 62 |
Pierce felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 43% of all affected workers with 95 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Tacoma | 1 | 95 |
| Centralia | 1 | 64 |
| Seattle | 2 | 62 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 1 | 95 |
| Layoff | 1 | 7 |
Closures accounted for 43% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlson Paving Products | Tacoma | 95 | Closure | |
| TransAlta | Centralia | 64 | ||
| Double Down Interactive | Seattle | 55 | ||
| Museum of Pop Culture | Seattle | 7 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Carlson Paving Products at its Tacoma facility, reporting 95 affected workers. TransAlta followed with 64 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest a mixed picture for Washington's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. The Construction sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Washington. 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 Washington WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.