The Week of November 27: 5,991 Workers, a Thanksgiving-Week Layoff Wave

Thanksgiving week is shaping up to be one of the heaviest layoff weeks of the fall. Layoff Atlas data puts 5,991 reported workers with effective dates in the week of November 27, 2026, making it the third-heaviest week in the current six-week outlook — behind only the weeks of November 13 (8,850 workers) and November 20 (7,181).

The timing is hard to miss. Thanksgiving Day falls on Thursday, November 26, the day before this week on the calendar. Thousands of workers are scheduled to see their jobs end in the days immediately after the holiday. Effective dates follow the 60-day notice clock, not the holiday — but the practical impact still lands in a week when many people are travelling and unemployment offices and support services run on holiday schedules.

The six-week picture

Across the six weeks in the current outlook, Layoff Atlas counts 29,797 reported workers:

• Week of November 6: 2,847 workers
• Week of November 13: 8,850 workers
• Week of November 20: 7,181 workers
• Week of November 27: 5,991 workers
• Week of December 4: 1,897 workers
• Week of December 11: 3,031 workers

November's four weeks account for 24,869 workers — about 83 percent of the six-week total. The two December weeks combined, at 4,928 workers, amount to less than the November 27 week on its own. The week of November 27 alone is about a fifth of the entire six-week total, and about two-thirds of the November 13 peak.

The shape of the calendar is a wave, not a cliff. The current week is relatively light at 2,847 workers; the numbers then climb steeply to 8,850 and 7,181 before easing through November 27 and dropping sharply in December.

Why so many dates land in late November

Most of the workers in the November 27 week were told about their layoffs in late September. The federal WARN Act generally requires 60 days' notice before a qualifying mass layoff or plant closure, so a notice filed around September 28 produces an effective date around November 27. The heavy late-November weeks are, in large part, the echo of notices filed in late September and early October.

That timing also explains why the December weeks look light right now. Notices with December effective dates are still being filed — the 60-day clock for a December 11 effective date only ran out in mid-October. The December figures will grow as new notices arrive. The November 27 total, by contrast, is mostly set and less likely to move much.

For workers in that week, the holiday timing adds a practical wrinkle. Final paychecks, benefits paperwork, and unemployment claims all have deadlines that do not pause for Thanksgiving. Anyone with an effective date in this week should check whether HR and benefits offices will be staffed after the holiday, and file unemployment claims as early as their state allows.

The national backdrop

In the current 90-day window, Layoff Atlas counts 675 notices covering 64,274 reported workers, with 28 counts unavailable. Those counts are excluded, so the real number of affected workers is slightly higher. The data was last updated on November 5, 2026.

Two states dominate the national picture. California leads with 20,812 reported workers, followed by Washington with 17,411. Together they account for 38,223 workers — about 59 percent of the national total. Illinois (3,548), Texas (2,750), and Virginia (2,526) round out the top five. That concentration matters: a heavy national week can still be light in most states.

Recent filings show the pipeline is still active: notices dated November 2 include Alaska Airlines' Hawaii closure filing and Chick-fil-A's 87-worker Oxnard, California closure filing, both effective December 31, and a 634-worker Comcast filing in Philadelphia also carries a December 31 effective date. None fall in the November 27 week, but they show how effective dates keep stretching further out even as the November weeks fill up.

What these numbers are — and are not

These figures come from WARN notices, the advance notifications employers file with state labor agencies ahead of qualifying mass layoffs and plant closures. They are reported plans, not confirmed job losses. A filing can be amended, delayed, or cancelled, and the number of workers listed in a notice is not always the number who ultimately lose their jobs. Coverage also varies by state: reporting rules differ, some states publish notices faster than others, and some filings arrive without a worker count. WARN data is a floor, not a census — it captures the large, formal layoffs that trigger notice requirements, and misses smaller cuts below the thresholds.

What to watch next

Three things will decide whether November 27 stays the third-heaviest week. First, new notices could still add workers to that week, though the window is narrowing. Second, employers can amend existing notices, moving effective dates earlier or later. Third, the December weeks — currently light at 1,897 and 3,031 workers — will almost certainly grow as November filings land.

For now, the message of the calendar is clear. November is the heavy month, with 24,869 workers scheduled across its four weeks, and the week of November 27 — 5,991 workers, arriving right after Thanksgiving — is the tail end of the heaviest stretch of the fall. Workers with effective dates in that week face the same steps as anyone else — unemployment eligibility, health coverage, final pay — but in a holiday week, when the offices they need are least available.

Data source: Layoff Atlas