Virginia Layoffs November 2026: WARN Numbers Explained

Virginia holds fifth place in the current national layoff picture. In the 90-day window tracked by Layoff Atlas, Virginia accounts for 2,546 reported workers across its WARN filings, behind California (21,514), Washington (17,411), Illinois (3,548) and Texas (2,750) — about 4% of the 65,089 workers reported nationwide. California and Washington together hold roughly 60% of that total.

This is a November refresh of Virginia's numbers, last spotlighted on October 24. Here is where the state stands now, what changed, and how to read the numbers.

The November picture

Virginia's full imported archive now holds 2,195 non-cancelled WARN notices reporting 255,368 workers affected. In the last 365 days, the archive contains 74 eligible official filings reporting 8,917 workers, with no worker counts unavailable. The newest official notice date is October 30, 2026. Sixteen notices have future effective dates, meaning layoffs that have been announced but have not yet taken effect.

So far in 2026, Virginia has 67 notices reporting 8,394 workers. That works out to about 125 workers per filing on average. The state's 2026 total is already close to its full-year 2024 total of 63 notices and 8,706 workers, and it sits below 2025, when Virginia recorded 112 notices and 12,067 workers. With almost two months of the year left, 2026 is on course to land between those two years.

The mix of sources behind Virginia's numbers is nearly even: 1,138 direct government records and 1,057 attributed secondary records appear in the full archive. Recent official event types are layoffs and closures.

What changed since October

Compared with the October 24 snapshot, Virginia's 2026 figures have grown. Notices for the year rose from 61 to 67, and reported workers rose from 7,735 to 8,394 — an increase of 659 workers in about two weeks. The archive total moved from 2,189 notices and 254,709 workers to 2,195 and 255,368. Official filings in the last 365 days rose from 71 to 74, and their worker total from 8,388 to 8,917. Future effective dates increased from 13 to 16, and the newest official notice date moved from October 7 to October 30.

Virginia's position in the national ranking has also firmed up. On November 3, the state entered the top five with 2,373 workers in the 90-day window. Five days later that figure is 2,546, a gain of 173 workers, and fifth place has firmed up. Virginia's 90-day total is small next to California's 21,514 and Washington's 17,411, but it leads every state outside the top four.

The year-by-year picture

Virginia's recent history shows how uneven layoff years can be. The pandemic year of 2020 dominates the archive: 453 notices and 58,089 workers, nearly five times the worker total of any year since. The years after that fell back sharply — 74 notices and 7,852 workers in 2021, then 60 and 5,220 in 2022. 2023 brought 112 notices and 9,742 workers, 2024 brought 63 and 8,706, and 2025 brought 112 and 12,067.

Further back, totals ran higher: 132 notices and 17,968 workers in 2019, 188 and 19,216 in 2018, 121 and 12,261 in 2017, and 118 and 15,058 in 2016. By that longer view, 2026 is a quiet year for Virginia — below every year from 2012 through 2019, and below 2023 and 2025 as well.

The biggest recent filings

Two Virginia filings stand out in the recent record. The largest is The Washington Post's 118-worker filing for its Springfield, Virginia operation, with notice given on October 7, 2026 and an effective date of December 31, 2026. It is the single biggest Virginia filing in the current window.

The newest is Haynes Furniture's 83-worker filing, with notice on October 30, 2026 and an effective date of November 2, 2026 — a notice gap of just three days, far shorter than the 60 days the WARN Act generally requires. That short gap is the kind of detail worth watching: the law allows shorter notice only in narrow circumstances, such as unforeseeable business circumstances or a faltering company seeking capital.

Both filings sit inside a national calendar whose heaviest week ahead is November 15, with 7,887 workers scheduled, followed by November 22 with 6,614. The newest week, December 13, carries 5,307. Virginia's 16 future effective dates are part of that pipeline, including the Washington Post filing effective on the last day of the year.

How to read Virginia's numbers

Three caveats matter. First, these are reported plans, not confirmed job losses. A WARN notice records what an employer told the state it intends to do; some planned layoffs shrink, some are averted, and some workers are rehired. Second, Virginia's archive blends 1,138 direct government records with 1,057 secondary records, so coverage depends on what sources report and what the registry has imported. A quiet feed is not proof of zero layoffs. Third, the 90-day window shows the current pace, while the full archive shows the state's longer history.

What the numbers do show is a state near the top of the national ranking on a moderate 2026 pace by its own history, with small recent filings and a modest pipeline of 16 future effective dates. The story to watch is whether the heavy November and December weeks bring new Virginia filings with them.

Data source: Layoff Atlas