Washington Layoffs — January 2024
Employers in Washington posted 11 WARN Act notices in January 2024, affecting an estimated 958 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to December and down 73% versus January 2023. The average filing covered 87 workers, with 3 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 3 | 382 |
| Manufacturing | 3 | 295 |
| Accommodation & Food | 1 | 119 |
| Information & Technology | 3 | 100 |
| Retail | 1 | 62 |
The Transportation sector saw the heaviest impact with 382 workers across 3 notices. On a related front, Manufacturing reported 295 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| King | 7 | 473 |
| Lewis | 1 | 158 |
| Snohomish | 1 | 142 |
| Spokane | 1 | 119 |
| Yakima | 1 | 66 |
King felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 49% of all affected workers with 473 workers across 7 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | 3 | 229 |
| Chehalis | 1 | 158 |
| Lynnwood | 1 | 142 |
| Aurburn | 1 | 125 |
| Spokane | 1 | 119 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 8 | 667 |
| Closure | 3 | 291 |
Closures accounted for 30% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merit Logistics | Chehalis | 158 | Layoff | |
| Northwest Motorsport | Lynnwood | 142 | Closure | |
| Penske Logistics | Aurburn | 125 | Layoff | |
| HMSHost | Spokane | 119 | Layoff | |
| Flexe | Seattle | 99 | Layoff | |
| WestRock | Seattle | 87 | Closure | |
| Thermoforming Systems | Union Gap | 66 | Layoff | |
| Walmart | Redmond | 62 | Closure | |
| Unity Technologies | Bellevue | 50 | Layoff | |
| Block | Seattle | 43 | Layoff | |
| Lost Boys Interactive | Bellevue | 7 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Merit Logistics at its Chehalis facility, reporting 158 affected workers. Northwest Motorsport followed with 142 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The trends suggest a mixed picture for Washington's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. The Transportation sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Washington. 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 Washington WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.