Washington Layoffs — March 2025
Employers in Washington posted 7 WARN Act notices in March 2025, affecting an estimated 1,222 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to February and up 155% versus March 2024. The average filing covered 175 workers, with 5 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Education | 2 | 878 |
| Manufacturing | 1 | 119 |
| Real Estate | 1 | 86 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 35 |
The Education sector saw the heaviest impact with 878 workers across 2 notices. On a related front, Manufacturing reported 119 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| King | 4 | 1,083 |
| Yakima | 1 | 100 |
| Lewis | 1 | 35 |
| Pierce | 1 | 4 |
King bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 89% of all affected workers with 1,083 workers across 4 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | 4 | 1,083 |
| Granger | 1 | 100 |
| Centralia | 1 | 35 |
| Issaquah | 1 | 4 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 5 | 1,132 |
| Layoff | 2 | 90 |
The high proportion of closures (93% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Washington's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornish College of the Arts | Seattle | 524 | Closure | |
| Cornish College of the Arts | Seattle | 354 | Closure | |
| The Cheesecake Factory | Seattle | 119 | Closure | |
| Cow Palace | Granger | 100 | Closure | |
| MSRE Management, L.L.C., dba Martin Selig Real Estate | Seattle | 86 | Layoff | |
| American Medical Response Ambulance Service | Centralia | 35 | Closure | |
| Recreational Equipment | Issaquah | 4 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Cornish College of the Arts at its Seattle facility, reporting 524 affected workers. Cornish College of the Arts followed with 354 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Washington labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Education 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.