Wisconsin Layoffs — August 2023
Employers in Wisconsin posted 6 WARN Act notices in August 2023, affecting an estimated 619 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to July and up 135% versus August 2022. The average filing covered 103 workers, with 1 closure among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 5 | 614 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 5 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 614 workers across 5 notices. On a related front, Information & Technology reported 5 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee | 2 | 560 |
| Rock | 4 | 59 |
Milwaukee was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 90% of all affected workers with 560 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee | 2 | 560 |
| Janesville | 3 | 54 |
| Beloit | 1 | 5 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 1 | 235 |
Closures accounted for 38% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Master Lock | Milwaukee | 325 | ||
| Master Lock | Milwaukee | 235 | Closure | |
| SHINE Technologies | Janesville | 41 | ||
| SHINE Technologies | Janesville | 10 | ||
| SHINE Technologies | Beloit | 5 | ||
| SHINE Technologies | Janesville | 3 |
The largest notice was filed by Master Lock at its Milwaukee facility, reporting 325 affected workers. Master Lock followed with 235 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest 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.