As many as 1,062 Massachusetts workers lost their jobs to layoffs in June, and the number for July is already nearly that high, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notices filed with the state.
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN, requires employers with 100 or more employees to provide 60 days' advance written notice of plant closings or mass layoffs.
This allows the MassHire Rapid Response team to assist the affected workers.
“The MassHire Rapid Response team works with companies to provide support services for impacted workers, including training and job fairs, individual meetings, and interview workshops," said a spokesperson for the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
"Additionally, the MassHire Career Centers are ready to help impacted employees and other jobseekers with workforce services, resources, and other supports to help," the spokesperson said. Workers are encouraged to connect with their local MassHire Career Center to learn more about available services and next steps."
The number of layoffs listed in WARN notices likely will not be as high as the actual job cuts, as the layoffs may be contingent on failure to sell a business or the workers in question my be assigned to other position.
Almost a third of the June-related layoffs listed in WARN notices resulted from the closing of two private colleges.
Anna Maria College in Paxton laid off 150 workers from June 22 through June 30 and Hampshire College in Amherst plans to let go 199 workers from June 16 through the end of the year.
"Anna Maria College has filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11," the school said in a June 26 post on its website.
"All compensation obligations to employees have been fully met," the post said. "Ongoing work in support of students, including teach-out and transfer partnerships, will continue."
Hampshire College President Jennifer Chrisler said a May 12 message that the school "no longer has the resources to sustain full operations and meet our regulatory responsibilities."
The college's board of trustees voted to permanently close the school following the fall 2026 semester, Chrisler's message said.
Southshore Elder Services laid off 131 workers over the course of the month, according to a WARN notice.
As of last Wednesday, "Southshore Elder Services has officially transitioned to operating solely as an Area Agency on Aging," the company said.
The state defines an Area Agencies on Aging as "state-designated agencies that exist to address the needs and concerns of aging individuals at the regional and local levels."
Following the more than 1,000 job cuts in June or beginning in June, there are already as many as 837 layoffs in July or beginning in July, according to the state.
Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, the "largest life sciences employer in the state of Massachusetts," according to its website planned to cut 247 jobs starting July 1 through the end of the year, WARN notice information shows.
The company also planned to eliminate 387 positions in other states, but Sonali Das, Takeda's lead counsel for U.S. Employment, said in a letter that the "numbers may evolve
as employees pursue and accept redeployment opportunities across Takeda’s global network. Should additional impacts be identified, we will supplement this notice to maintain full transparency."
Dover Saddlery, an English horseback riding equipment and apparel retailed in Littleton, planned to lay off 112 workers starting Tuesday until July 20, according to a WARN notice, but the job cuts were not a foregone conclusion.
Dali Danielson, Dover Saddlery's director of human resources, said in a letter that the company "may be conducting a permanent layoff and closing its facility in the near future.
"Whether the layoffs or closures occur will depend in part on our success in obtaining funding or selling our business," Danielson said.
From January 1 through May 31, 5,504 Massachusetts layoffs were announced.
Massachusetts' unemployment rate for May, the most recent month available, was 4.5%, exceeding the national rate of 4.2%
The state's May 2025 rate was 4.3%.
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