North Carolina Layoffs — August 2023

Employers in North Carolina submitted 19 WARN Act notices in August 2023, putting at risk an estimated 1,803 workers — up substantially from July and up 386% versus August 2022. The average filing covered 95 workers, with 19 closures among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

The Manufacturing sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 1,508 workers across 11 notices. Separately, Healthcare reported 294 workers.

Geographic Hotspots

Randolph bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 46% of all affected workers with 826 workers across 6 notices.

Layoff Type Analysis

The high proportion of closures (100% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in North Carolina's labor market.

Largest Layoffs

Topping the list was Klaussner Furniture Industries at its Asheboro facility, reporting 556 affected workers. The Mitchell Gold Co. DBA Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams followed with 440 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.