North Carolina Layoffs — January 2026
Employers in North Carolina filed 12 WARN Act notices in January 2026, impacting roughly 1,596 workers — representing a notable rise over December and up 63% versus January 2025. The average filing covered 133 workers, with 1 closure among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 4 | 632 |
| Transportation | 3 | 259 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 31 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 9 |
The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 632 workers across 4 notices. In a parallel development, Transportation reported 259 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Buncombe | 2 | 844 |
| Chatham | 2 | 300 |
| Forsyth | 1 | 99 |
| New Hanover | 1 | 82 |
| Gaston | 2 | 81 |
Buncombe felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 53% of all affected workers with 844 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Asheville | 2 | 844 |
| Siler City | 2 | 300 |
| Rural Hall | 1 | 99 |
| Wilmington | 1 | 82 |
| Morrisville | 1 | 78 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 11 | 1,175 |
| Closure | 1 | 421 |
Closures accounted for 26% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thermo Fisher Scientific | Asheville | 423 | Layoff | |
| Thermo Fisher Scientific | Asheville | 421 | Closure | |
| Fortrex | Siler City | 170 | Layoff | |
| Fortrex | Siler City | 130 | Layoff | |
| CJ Logistics America | Rural Hall | 99 | Layoff | |
| Avelo Airlines | Wilmington | 82 | Layoff | |
| Avelo Airlines | Morrisville | 78 | Layoff | |
| Firestone Fibers and Textiles | Kings Mountain | 77 | Layoff | |
| Parkdale Mills | Walnut Cove | 72 | Layoff | |
| Access East | Greenville | 31 | Layoff | |
| Smbc Manubank | 9 | Layoff | ||
| Firestone Fibers and Textiles | Gastonia | 4 | Layoff |
The single largest action involved Thermo Fisher Scientific at its Asheville facility, reporting 423 affected workers. Thermo Fisher Scientific followed with 421 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.