In short
- The federal WARN Act requires employers with 100 or more full-time employees to give 60 calendar days' written notice before a plant closing or mass layoff.
- A mass layoff means 500 or more people at one site in 30 days, or 50 to 499 if that is at least a third of the site's workforce.
- If your employer skips the notice, you may be owed back pay and benefits for each day of violation, up to 60 days.
- Some states go further: New York requires 90 days' notice from employers with 50 or more full-time employees.
On this page
Layoffs this week, and WARN notices to come
- Boeing told employees on November 9, 2026 it will cut about 5% of its commercial airplanes division, which employed about 50,500 people at the end of 2025, through attrition and layoffs. Notices are expected from December at the earliest, according to Reuters as reported by HRD America.
- PepsiCo plans to cut about 1,000 jobs across North America over the coming week, CNBC reported on November 9.
- Comcast has filed WARN notices in Pennsylvania (634 jobs in Philadelphia), Washington (159), New Jersey (119, effective January 27, 2027) and California (82), according to Light Reading. One filing notes more than 1,100 open positions affected employees can apply for.
WARN notices also go to state agencies, and many states publish them: New York, for example, posts every notice on a public WARN Dashboard. That is how some layoffs become known before the company announces them.
What is a WARN notice under the WARN Act?
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) is a federal law. Its purpose, in the words of the Labor Department's regulations, is to give workers and their families "transition time" to adjust, look for a new job or enter training before the job ends.
| Rule | Federal WARN Act |
|---|---|
| Employers covered | 100 or more employees, not counting part-time workers (or 100+ working 4,000 hours a week in total) |
| Plant closing | A site or unit shut down, causing job losses for 50 or more full-time employees in 30 days |
| Mass layoff | 500 or more full-time employees at one site in 30 days, or 50 to 499 if at least 33% of the site |
| Notice period | At least 60 calendar days before the first job loss |
| Who is notified | You (or your union), the state dislocated worker unit, the local chief elected official |
| If the notice is missing | Back pay and benefits for each day of violation, up to 60 days |
An "employment loss" is a termination (not for cause, not a resignation or retirement), a layoff of more than six months, or hours cut by more than half in each month of a six-month period.
What your WARN notice must tell you
If you are not represented by a union, your individual WARN notice must be written in language you can understand and state:
- whether the action is expected to be permanent or temporary, and whether the whole plant will close;
- the expected date the layoff starts and the date your own job will end;
- whether bumping rights exist (the right to move into another role held by a less senior worker);
- the name and phone number of a company official you can contact.
There are exceptions. The regulations allow shorter notice for a faltering company seeking new financing, unforeseeable business circumstances and natural disasters, but the employer must still give as much notice as it can. Many layoffs also fall below the thresholds: a company with 80 employees, or a cut of 30 people at one site, does not trigger the federal WARN Act.
State WARN Act rules: often stricter
Several states have their own "mini-WARN" laws. In New York, for example, the state WARN Act covers private employers with 50 or more full-time employees in the state, counts a mass layoff from 25 full-time employees if they make up at least 33% of the site, and requires 90 days' notice. New York publishes every notice on its WARN Dashboard. Check your state labor department's WARN page: a state law can apply on top of the federal one.
Got a WARN notice? A 60-day plan
Sixty days on payroll is the best position to job hunt from: you are still employed, still paid, and recruiters know WARN notices are not about performance.
- Week 1: read the notice and your package. Note your separation date, ask HR about severance, final pay, unused PTO, health coverage and any internal openings. Read any release or severance agreement carefully before you sign it.
- Week 1: update your resume. Add your latest projects and results while the figures are fresh and you still have access to them.
- Weeks 2 to 4: apply internally and externally. Comcast's filing points to open roles inside the company; many employers do the same. Tailor each resume to the job posting.
- Weeks 2 to 8: use the help available. Your WARN notice also goes to your state's dislocated worker unit, so that help for laid-off workers can start before your last day. Ask HR or your state labor department what is offered: job search support, training, information on unemployment insurance.
- Last day: file for unemployment. File with your state as soon as your job ends, and keep a log of your job search from day one: see unemployment work search requirements.
For the bigger picture, see the latest Challenger job cuts report. If you are on an H-1B or another work visa, your timeline is different: read the H-1B grace period after a layoff.
Frequently asked questions.
Sources
- 20 CFR Part 639, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
- 29 U.S. Code § 2104, Administration and enforcement of requirements, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN), New York State Department of Labor
- Boeing layoffs to hit 5% of commercial airplane staff in December (November 9, 2026), HRD America
- PepsiCo to cut about 1,000 North America jobs (November 9, 2026), CNBC
- Comcast state-level layoff warnings start to roll in, Light Reading
About the author
Diego Benitez
Founder of Kandiq, more than 100 hires led
Diego Benitez has hired more than a hundred people, in marketing, sport and sales, as a manager at Intersport and then as Head of Growth at Goodvest (2022 to 2026). He ran those hiring processes from start to finish: screening applications, interviews, the hiring decision, then managing the team. He also knows the candidate's side: internships, work-study, student jobs, a permanent contract, starting an agency, then freelancing. He built Kandiq to give candidates what he looked for in an application himself, and what screening software can read. His guides start from the questions candidates ask Google, rely on official public sources (government employment and careers services, employment law) and are updated when the rules change. The examples are fictional; the figures are sourced.
