September 2026 WARN Filings Highlight Ongoing Layoffs

Public Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filings show dozens of employers planning workforce reductions effective in September 2026. Companies named in the filings include National Express Transit Corp., Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, WellStar Health System, Avamere Health Services, BioTouch Company, Chime Financial, TPE Acquisition, Community Healthlink, Smith Drug Company, MV Transportation, Veritone, Compass Group, FedEx, Yerba Mate, Kroger, and Chick-fil-A. Larger firms such as Amazon, Meta, Verizon, Oracle, Tyson Foods, and Spirit Airlines also appear in the broader 2026 WARN dataset.

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• Through August 25, 2026 (occurred), LayoffAlert.org tracked 3,191 WARN notices affecting 284,035 employees in 44 states.

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• Year-to-date WARN filings in 2026 have impacted approximately 163,273 workers, down from 261,814 in 2025.

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• The national unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in July, unchanged from the prior year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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• Indeed Hiring Lab reports that overall job postings remain slightly above pre-pandemic levels, though hiring demand has softened relative to the post-COVID boom.

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Alex Beene, a financial-literacy instructor at the University of Tennessee, attributes the cautious hiring environment to “uncertainty” surrounding inflation, customer demand, and the economic impact of artificial-intelligence investments. He notes that while the labor market remains resilient, employment gains are uneven across sectors.

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Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, observes that layoff announcements continue to concentrate in technology, with AI reshaping organizational structures. He adds that hiring is rising in aerospace, energy, and manufacturing—areas that rely on physical-floor work rather than remote-screen roles.

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The next major gauge of labor-market health will be forthcoming employment reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and additional WARN filings submitted ahead of the fall hiring season. Analysts expect these data to clarify whether the current “low-hire, low-fire” environment persists.

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• “The good news is the labor market has proven to be largely resilient over the last year, but the sectors seeing employment gains are increasingly uneven,” — Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee

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• “While everyone from lawmakers to economists will blame certain factors, the primary reason behind all finger-pointing is ultimately uncertainty,” — Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee

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• “These layoffs do not yet signal a collapsing labor market, but they do suggest it is becoming a ‘low-hire, low-fire’ economy,” — Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee

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• “Layoff plans continue to be announced primarily in Tech, and artificial intelligence is still the story, as investments in the technology reshape organizations,” — Andy Challenger, a workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas

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• “Employers are hiring more than they were at this point last year, which bucks the trend we've seen since 2020. The demand is showing up in aerospace, energy, and manufacturing, work that happens on a floor rather than a screen,” — Andy Challenger, a workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas

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