RALEIGH – As the coronavirus takes a growing toll on the slowing US economy, hundreds of people in North Carolina from resorts in Greensboro and Kitty Hawk to an airline operating out of Raleigh-Durham International Airport are losing their jobs, according to layoff notices filed with the state of North Carolina.

But the official notices are – so far- only a small indicator of job cuts.

Early Monday, meanwhile, GE Aviation which operates a big plant in Durham employing some 400 people and another big facility in Asheville, said it is cutting 10 percent of its workforce.

More than 83,000 claims had been filed from March 16 to March 21, compared to weekly filings of about 3,500 claims in recent months, Larry Parker, a spokesman for the Division of Employment Security told The Associated Press. COVID-19 was cited for the claims request in 85 percent of the cases, Parker said.

Only seven formal notices had been filed in recent days as the number of job cuts soared, according to the NC Department of Commerce which lists the filings. The so-called WARN, which stands for Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, filings are required by federal law.

GE Aviation, which employs hundreds in Durham, is laying off 10% of workforce

‘Economic devastation:’ Surge in unemployment claims could triple

Explains David Rhoades, Communications Director for the NC Department of Commerce:

“WARN notices are actually a part of federal law, not state.  We’re in the loop and receive these letters as our Workforce division meets the law’s requirement as the state-level workforce system to be notified, in certain cases, of layoffs or job actions.”

Here is a recap of the latest notices:

  • Trans States Airlines, which does business as United Express, is closing its operation in Morrisville, said in the filing on Friday.

The airline listing the 13 job losses as “permanent.”



  • New World Concepts, a catering firm in Morrisville, said it was closing and laying off 120 people.

The layoffs took place on March 18 and a notice was filed the next day.

The layoffs were described as “temporary.”

  • Another 300 people at the Umstead Hotel in Cary lost their jobs when it closed last week. However, as of March 20 no WARN notice had been filed, according to the latest Department of Commerce update.
  • In Kitty Hawk, the Sanderline Resort laid off 81 people. The cuts were made March 20, a day after the notice was received by the state the next day.

Again, the cuts were said to be “temporary.”

  • And in Charlotte, BLT Steak said it is cutting 57 jobs. The notice was made the same day – March 18 – as the cuts, which were listed as “temporary.”
  • Also in Charlotte, CE Rental is laying off seven workers on a temporary basis, according to a March 18 filing. The cuts were made the previous day.
  • Lemco Mills in Burlington said on March 16 it was laying off 57 people effective April 22.

Some 800 other job cuts were disclosed in other filings from across the state earlier in the month.

Filing a WARN notice – what companies are required to do

According to the NC Department of Commerce, here are the requirements of companies to file a notice when laying off workers:

“A federal law, the WARN Act, governs the process for filing a notice.  The act seeks to protect workers, their families, and their communities by requiring employers to provide 60 days’ advance notice of certain plant closings and mass layoffs. Businesses that employ at least 100 workers, excluding part-time workers, are required to file a WARN notice if they are preparing to take one of the following actions:

  • Close a plant that affects at least 50 employees during any 30-day period. (This does not include workers who have worked less than six months during the last year or employees who work less than an average of 20 hours a week.)
  • Conduct a mass layoff of at least 500 employees, or a layoff impacting between 50-499 employees when that number represents at least one-third of the employer’s workforce.

You must file your WARN notice with the following:

  • All affected workers or their representatives (e.g., a labor union)
  • The North Carolina Division of Workforce Solutions, a unit of the N.C. Department of Commerce
  • The chief elected official of the unit of local government where the site is located
  • After filing the WARN notice, our workforce Rapid Response team will contact you in 48 hours or less, to assist your workers and your Human Resources staff.

Read more about WARN notices at this website.