Well, it’s still public. Just not convenient.

State officials still collect the notices required of companies doing large layoffs. They still post the notices online. But every time youwant to have a look, you'll have to log in and register again.

The Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) was intended to make sure that companies didn’t spring a plant closing or massive layoff on employees without — that’s, right — warning. It’s got its loopholes, of course, but the gist is that companies who are closing a plant or laying off a lot of people need to provide advance notice —  60 days.

The list that each state keeps of those notices is supposed to let the public know what’s coming.

When Georgia’s Department of Labor handled the task, the web site was easily accessible. You could look several times a day just by clicking. Now, it’s handled by the Department of Economic Development, under the purview of the governor.

And anyone who wants to look has to fill out a form.

Perhaps it’s petty to complain. And perhaps it’s unnecessary to force the public to fill out a form every time.

If you are curious, here's the WARN site.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Stellantis plans to open a 422,000-square-foot Mopar Parts Distribution Center in Forsyth, about 60 miles south of Atlanta. (Courtesy of Stellantis)

Credit: Courtesy of Stellantis

Featured

Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com