The first five months of 2026 have seen mounting job losses across Virginia as major companies close stores, plants and other facilities.
Through May 31, there have been 4,838 layoffs announced according to WARN notices filed with the Virginia Department of Workforce Development. That's 1,087 more than the first five months of 2025, when 3,751 were announced, a 29 percent increase.
Virginia WARN notices accelerated significantly this spring, with May alone accounting for 1,456 affected workers, more than March and April combined.
The largest filing was Ideal US Talent Worker OpCo's statewide layoff of 776 workers. It involved workers across the state and was part of a restructuring of the company's temporary workforce operations.
Meanwhile, Republic National Distributing Co., one of the nation's largest wine and spirits distributors, announced in April that it would lay off 428 employees in Virginia amid a restructuring tied to the sale of operations in several states to Reyes Beverage Group.
Here is a look at other major layoffs reported in the past three months:
The transportation services company filed one of the largest closure notices in Virginia during the spring.
The company filed a WARN notice tied to its Virginia operation, but the filing was later rescinded and the layoffs did not move forward.
The defense contractor filed one of the largest Northern Virginia WARN notices during the March-May period.
The affected workers were tied to federal and aerospace-related operations on Virginia's Eastern Shore.
The manufacturing company filed one of the largest industrial-sector WARN notices in Virginia this spring.
A notable trend in the March–May WARN notices is that many of the largest filings fall into one of three categories: staffing and workforce services, beverage and distribution, and manufacturing. Combined, those sectors account for a substantial share of the workers affected by WARN notices.
Defense and government contracting also remained a significant contributor, especially in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.
Virginia's unemployment rate sits at 3.8 percent, according to the latest available data. The national unemployment rate is at 4.3 percent.
See more Virginia WARN notices for 2026.
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.
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