These NC companies notified the state of mass layoffs during the coronavirus pandemic
More than 13,000 workers have lost their jobs since the novel coronavirus hit North Carolina in early March, an Observer analysis of data from the N.C. Department of Commerce found.
Businesses have filed more than 180 notifications of closures or mass layoffs, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification records.
But the WARN Notices do not include all layoffs in the state, and are likely just a fraction of the total.
Companies have to file WARN notices when they:
▪ Close a facility, affecting at least 50 workers during a 30-day period.
▪ Lay off at least 500 people, or 50 to 499 employees and that number is at least one-third of the company’s workforce.
Some of the largest layoffs occurred at rental car company Enterprise Holdings, with 884 people who lost their jobs. The company operates the Enterprise, Alamo and National brands.
Another 815 employees of airline catering company HMSHost were laid off at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The Cheesecake Factory had 376 layoffs statewide.
About 40% of the layoffs are temporary.
Mecklenburg County registered the most layoffs of any county, with nearly 3,000 as of late April. Guilford County saw about 2,000 layoffs and Wake County saw about 1,600.
A deluge of claims
From March 15 to April 27, more than 875,000 people in North Carolina filed an unemployment claim, according to the Commerce Department.
The flood of claims has overwhelmed the state’s unemployment office, as applicants report technical difficulties and long hold times. The state’s Division of Employment Security is beefing up its staff to keep up with the influx of claims.
Less than half of those who applied have been paid their benefits, which now includes the additional $600 a week from the federal stimulus package, according to the division. The state has paid out $910 million in unemployment insurance.
North Carolina has among the lowest-paying unemployment benefits in the country following the state legislature’s 2013 cuts to benefits.
Gov. Roy Cooper eased some limits on on unemployment in March to help lessen the financial burden of the coronavirus, such as eliminating a one-week waiting period and allowing some workers who have had their hours reduced but have not been laid off to apply.
The federal stimulus bill also extends unemployment insurance to the self-employed, who typically do not qualify.
This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 10:58 AM.
