Most layoff notices are small: what 6,644 US WARN notices show about who files and how big

Recent data reveals that most layoff notices in the United States are small, with a median notice naming only 43 workers. Over half of the notices involve 50 or fewer workers, while just 0.5% name 1,000 or more workers. Despite this, notices for 500 or more workers account for 25% of all workers mentioned. A few large notices make up a significant portion of the total workforce.

The biggest single notices listed in the data include Tend Exchange Subsidiary LLC and Delaware Tender Staffing in California, employing 16,132 workers, and Gebbers Farms in Washington, with 3,465 and 3,445 employees, respectively. Other notable employers include Arizona Autism with 2,792 workers, Spirit Airlines in Florida with 2,529 workers, and Aloha Facility in Oregon with 2,509 workers.

Some companies file multiple small notices, such as Advance Stores Company and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, indicating they are closing or cutting staff site by site. The frequency of layoff notices varies by state, with an average of 235 notices per month across 13 states, peaking at 415 notices in October 2025. However, due to data collection delays and inconsistencies across states, trends should not be inferred from individual months.

California alone comprises 48% of the data, representing a map of the information rather than a ranking of states. The dataset, compiled through automated scraping with source URLs provided, omits states with strict bot restrictions or limited online publishing, as well as Ohio and North Carolina's data before 2026. The WARN Act covers only certain employers, so this data does not represent all U.S. layoffs.