Wisconsin Layoffs — January 2021
Employers in Wisconsin filed 8 WARN Act notices in January 2021, impacting roughly 637 workers — representing a notable rise over December and up 12% versus January 2020. The average filing covered 80 workers, with 4 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3 | 321 |
| Transportation | 3 | 243 |
| Retail | 1 | 39 |
| Construction | 1 | 34 |
The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 321 workers across 3 notices. In a parallel development, Transportation reported 243 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee | 5 | 494 |
| Washburn | 1 | 70 |
| Columbia | 1 | 39 |
| Jackson | 1 | 34 |
Milwaukee felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 78% of all affected workers with 494 workers across 5 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee | 5 | 494 |
| Spooner | 1 | 70 |
| Portage | 1 | 39 |
| Hixton | 1 | 34 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 4 | 166 |
Closures accounted for 26% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conagra Brands | Milwaukee | 190 | ||
| Air Wisconsin Airlines | Milwaukee | 140 | ||
| Ryder | Milwaukee | 80 | ||
| Stresau Laboratory | Spooner | 70 | Closure | |
| The Master Lock | Milwaukee | 61 | ||
| Stock and Field | Portage | 39 | Closure | |
| Turnkey Processing Sollutions/WP Operations | Hixton | 34 | Closure | |
| Durham School Services | Milwaukee | 23 | Closure |
The single largest action involved Conagra Brands at its Milwaukee facility, reporting 190 affected workers. Air Wisconsin Airlines followed with 140 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The data underscores mounting pressure on the Wisconsin 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 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.