New Layoffs Counter Governor’s Rosy Picture of WA Economy

During the opening of the 2024 legislative short session in Olympia, Governor Inslee portrayed WA state and its economy as growing, and bustling and tried to portray a lot of optimism. Recent Employment Security information seems to counter that.

 Three more WARN alerts this week from ESD

Per a new WA state law, businesses that employ more than 100 total workers must issue a Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification, or WARN, to ESD about closures or layoffs. These alerts have allowed news reporting outlets to stay on top of economic conditions a lot more closely.

There have been a lot of alerts for tech-related jobs on the West side, namely in King County, especially since the fall.

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Now, three more were issued this week. They included Unity Technologies, an international company with locations in the US, Canada, England, France and other nations. The company deals with digital tech, including gaming, film, and other related tech areas. Their WARN Alert indicates 50 workers will be let go at their Bellevue, WA operation this week.

Also, Flexe Inc. a company that helps businesses locate and rent warehouse space, continues to shed workers in its Seattle-area operations. The company, which began in Seattle, has laid off another 38 percent of its workers there, a total of 99. According to Geekwire, this follows a 33 percent cut late last year.

The third WARN Alert came from REXAM or Ball Can Company. They manufacture, among other products, aluminum cans for beermakers and other beverage companies. According to packingdrive.com, much of this layoff is due to slowdowns from the Bud Light drop in sales. The alert indicates their Kent, WA plant will be closing, laying off 121 workers. Last year, they also laid off workers in St. Louis and Birmingham, Alabama.

In total, these WARN Alerts show a combined 270 jobs going away. This is on top of the hundreds of recent tech job losses in the Puget Sound area.