North Carolina Layoffs — February 2023
Employers in North Carolina submitted 8 WARN Act notices in February 2023, putting at risk an estimated 388 workers — up substantially from January and up 113% versus February 2022. The average filing covered 48 workers, with 1 closure among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 4 | 284 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 56 |
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 46 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 2 |
The Manufacturing sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 284 workers across 4 notices. Separately, Information & Technology reported 56 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Durham | 2 | 165 |
| Forsyth | 1 | 78 |
| Cumberland | 1 | 56 |
| Gaston | 1 | 41 |
| San Francisco | 1 | 4 |
Durham saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 43% of all affected workers with 165 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Durham | 1 | 164 |
| Winston Salem | 1 | 78 |
| Fayetteville | 1 | 56 |
| McAdenville | 1 | 41 |
| San Francisco | 1 | 4 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 7 | 224 |
| Closure | 1 | 164 |
Closures accounted for 42% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medicago USA | Durham | 164 | Closure | |
| DFA Dairy Brands Fluid | Winston Salem | 78 | Layoff | |
| Gannett | Fayetteville | 56 | Layoff | |
| Peer Street | 42 | Layoff | ||
| Coats America | McAdenville | 41 | Layoff | |
| Critical Ideas Inc DBA Chipper Cash | San Francisco | 4 | Layoff | |
| RUME Medical Group | Charlotte | 2 | Layoff | |
| ImmunityBio | Research Triangle Park | 1 | Layoff |
Topping the list was Medicago USA at its Durham facility, reporting 164 affected workers. DFA Dairy Brands Fluid followed with 78 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
These figures highlight mounting pressure on the North Carolina 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 North Carolina. 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 North Carolina WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.