WARN Act and Layoffs in Automotive: What Auto Workers Should Know

Auto layoffs rarely arrive as a single headline. A tire plant cuts hundreds of jobs in Virginia, a trailer maker closes a small-town plant, a parts supplier shuts down in Alabama — and because suppliers feed assembly plants in tiers, one decision at the top ripples downstream. The WARN data captures the big ones and misses most of the small ones.

Layoff Atlas tracks 681 WARN notices covering 61,493 reported workers in its 90-day window; 29 notices carry no worker count. Four automotive filings in the 2026 data total 833 workers, and they show how the 60-day notice rule works in practice — where it barely holds, and where it never reaches.

These are reported plans, not confirmed job losses: dates move, sales fall through, and some notices never turn into separations.

Yokohama Tire: 533 workers in Salem, Virginia

The largest automotive filing in the 2026 data is Yokohama Tire Corporation in Salem, Virginia: 533 workers, notice filed January 16, 2026, effective March 18, 2026. That is 61 days of notice — one day more than the federal minimum.

Tire plants are capital-intensive and single-purpose, so a cut of this size is almost always permanent. The 61-day gap is what the WARN Act is designed to produce: time to file for unemployment and start a job search before the last paycheck. A WARN notice lists the employer, the site, the headcount, and the dates — it does not spell out severance terms or transfer options. Those details come from the employer or the union, not the filing.

Carry-On-Trailer: 179 workers in Montross, Virginia

The most recent large automotive filing is Carry-On-Trailer in Montross, Virginia: 179 workers, notice filed September 30, 2026, effective November 29, 2026 — exactly 60 days, the federal floor met to the day.

Trailer manufacturing depends on steel prices, dealer inventories, and demand for boats, ATVs, and utility trailers. A 179-worker cut in a small town lands differently than the same number in a metro area, because there are fewer comparable employers nearby.

IAC Group: 83 workers in Cottondale, Alabama

International Automotive Components Group North America filed a closure notice for its Cottondale, Alabama plant covering 83 workers: notice dated November 2, 2026, effective December 31, 2026 — 59 days, one day short of the 60-day federal minimum. The filing is an official record via the Alabama Department of Commerce.

IAC makes interior components — dashboards, door panels, trim — for assembly plants. A supplier closure often follows a decision made elsewhere: when an assembly plant cuts a shift or ends a model line, its supplier loses the volume first. The 59-day gap matters if a notice is challenged: the WARN Act's 60-day requirement is a hard floor for covered employers, not a guideline. Workers who received less than 60 days may have a claim for back pay for the shortfall.

First Brands: 38 workers, and the gap in the data

First Brands in Logansport, Indiana, reported 38 workers affected, effective April 30, 2026. The company makes auto parts — filters, wipers, and related components. It matters because of what it reveals about the data's limits.

A 38-worker cut falls below the federal mass-layoff trigger of 50 workers, so it would usually never have to produce a federal WARN notice at all. It appears in the registry because some states require notice at lower thresholds, but cuts of this size usually never reach any public record. The supplier tier is full of plants with 30, 40, or 60 workers — which is why the registry's totals are a floor, not a census, of auto layoffs.

Michigan: the industry's home state

Michigan remains the bellwether: its archive holds 2,202 notices covering 315,634 workers. In 2026 so far, Michigan has recorded 43 notices covering 7,543 workers — about 175 workers per filing — and the 2027 calendar already lists 2 notices covering 440 workers.

Those figures span every industry, not just autos, so they are context rather than an automotive total. But the state's average filing size — roughly double the national average of about 90 workers per notice — reflects what auto-heavy states look like: fewer filings, bigger ones, concentrated in plants.

What auto workers should do with a notice

First, check the dates: count the days between the notice date and the effective date. If it is less than 60 and your employer has 100 or more full-time workers, the notice may be short — and the shortfall can be worth up to 60 days of back pay and benefits.

Second, find out whether the layoff is temporary or permanent. Auto plants shut down for retooling, model changeovers, and parts shortages, and a temporary layoff is a WARN event only if it is expected to last over six months.

Third, do not assume seniority decides who goes. Bumping rights and layoff order come from the union contract, not the WARN Act, which only requires notice to the union, the state, and local officials. Use the notice period: file for unemployment early and contact your state's free Rapid Response team.

The four filings here add up to 833 workers. The six weeks ahead hold 27,071 scheduled layoffs across all industries, the heaviest week — 6,614 workers — falling in the week of November 22. Automotive's share is small, but the pattern holds: the big filings make the data, the small ones mostly do not, and the 60-day clock is the one protection workers can count in days.

Data source: Layoff Atlas