North Carolina Layoffs — January 2024
Employers in North Carolina filed 9 WARN Act notices in January 2024, impacting roughly 750 workers — representing a notable rise over December and up 148% versus January 2023. The average filing covered 83 workers, with 7 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 6 | 601 |
| Information & Technology | 2 | 92 |
| Professional Services | 1 | 57 |
The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 601 workers across 6 notices. In a parallel development, Information & Technology reported 92 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Mecklenburg | 2 | 199 |
| Davidson | 1 | 153 |
| Franklin | 1 | 107 |
| Swain | 1 | 88 |
| Montgomery | 1 | 74 |
Mecklenburg saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 27% of all affected workers with 199 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | 2 | 199 |
| Lexington | 1 | 153 |
| Youngsville | 1 | 107 |
| Cherokee | 1 | 88 |
| Mount Gilead | 1 | 74 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 7 | 689 |
| Layoff | 2 | 61 |
The high proportion of closures (92% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in North Carolina's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WestRock | Lexington | 153 | Closure | |
| Graphic Packaging International | Charlotte | 112 | Closure | |
| Team Manufacturing East West | Youngsville | 107 | Closure | |
| The Service Companies | Cherokee | 88 | Closure | |
| ASSA ABLOY Americas Residential | Charlotte | 87 | Closure | |
| PaperWorks | Mount Gilead | 74 | Closure | |
| Nitta Gelatin | Fayetteville | 68 | Closure | |
| HCL America | Carey | 57 | Layoff | |
| Lost Boys Interactive | Madison | 4 | Layoff |
The single largest action involved WestRock at its Lexington facility, reporting 153 affected workers. Graphic Packaging International followed with 112 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The data underscores 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.