North Carolina Layoffs — January 2026
Employers in North Carolina reported 12 WARN Act notices in January 2026, displacing an estimated 1,596 workers — signaling an acceleration from 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 | 7 | 1,297 |
| Transportation | 3 | 259 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 31 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 9 |
The Manufacturing sector topped the list of affected industries with 1,297 workers across 7 notices. Notably, 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 saw the most concentrated activity, 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 most significant filing came from 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 numbers illustrate 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.