International Automotive Components Group Files 83-Worker Closure Notice in Cottondale, Alabama

International Automotive Components Group North America Inc. has filed a WARN notice reporting 83 workers affected at its Cottondale, Alabama location. The notice is dated November 2, 2026, and the planned effective date is December 31, 2026. The event type listed on the record is a closure.

The filing is an official-source record, with the Alabama Department of Commerce named as the source agency. It is the largest recent WARN filing on the Layoff Atlas registry that had not yet been covered in this series — larger recent notices, including Alaska Airlines, GEICO, and Pharmaceutics International, were covered in the last few days, leaving this 83-worker Cottondale filing as the newest uncovered one.

The filing at a glance

• Employer: International Automotive Components Group North America Inc.
• Location: Cottondale, Alabama (county and ZIP not listed on the record)
• Workers affected: 83
• Notice date: November 2, 2026
• Planned effective date: December 31, 2026
• Event type: Closure
• Source: Alabama Department of Commerce, via Layoff Atlas

A closure filing differs from a temporary layoff or a partial workforce reduction. It signals that the site itself is shutting down rather than trimming staff, which matters for workers because a closure generally means the jobs at that location are ending outright, not pausing. The notice itself does not spell out severance terms or transfer options.

The notice period, in plain terms

From November 2 to December 31 is 59 calendar days. The federal WARN Act generally requires 60 days' advance notice for a qualifying plant closing or mass layoff. Readers should not jump from the 59-day gap to a conclusion that the notice is unlawful: how notice periods are counted, whether the effective date is phased, and whether any exception applies are questions the underlying document — and the specific facts — would decide. What the gap does show is that this filing sits right at the edge of the standard notice window, which makes the original filing document worth checking for anyone directly affected.

Workers named in a closure like this should also check whether Alabama's own rules add anything. Alabama does not have a broad mini-WARN law that extends the federal thresholds to smaller employers the way states like California, New York, or New Jersey do, so the federal WARN Act is the main notice framework here. That is one reason coverage varies so much from state to state: the same 83-worker closure would trigger different state-level obligations depending on where it happened.

Alabama in 2026

The Cottondale filing lands in a relatively quiet year for Alabama WARN notices. Layoff Atlas records 31 Alabama notices reporting 2,717 workers so far in 2026, compared with 31 notices and 3,514 workers in 2025 and 22 notices and 2,556 workers in 2024. The registry's Alabama archive overall holds 1,066 non-cancelled imported notices reporting 181,611 workers, and six Alabama notices currently carry future effective dates.

Those totals cover imported records only, and one Alabama record has an unavailable worker count, so the true totals are slightly higher than the reported figures. Coverage also depends on which sources are connected, which is why state-to-state comparisons need care: a state with a well-connected official feed will always look busier than a state whose filings arrive late or through secondary reports.

A year-end cluster

The December 31 effective date is no coincidence — it is one of the heaviest single dates on the current registry. Several of the newest filings share it: GEICO's 114-worker Lakeland, Florida notice, Alaska Airlines' 121-worker Washington notice, and Comcast Technology Center's 634-worker Philadelphia notice are all effective December 31, 2026, alongside this Cottondale closure. Year-end effective dates are common in WARN data because they often line up with contract ends, fiscal-year decisions, and planned shutdown calendars.

Nationally, the picture behind this filing is a registry holding 666 notices and 62,948 reported workers in its 90-day notice window, with 28 counts unavailable. California (18,196 workers) and Washington (17,336) lead the state ranking by a wide margin, followed by Illinois (3,649), Texas (2,978), and Maryland (2,429). Looking ahead, the heaviest upcoming week is the week of November 24, with 9,300 workers scheduled, followed by November 10 (6,887) and November 17 (6,613). The Cottondale closure falls just past that window, in the year-end group.

What workers can do with a notice like this

A WARN notice is a starting point, not a benefits decision. Workers affected by a closure should confirm the details in writing with their employer — the exact last working day, final pay timing, and any severance or continuation benefits — and file for unemployment benefits promptly, since waiting periods and eligibility rules vary by state. If the notice period looks short or the filing seems incomplete, the state labor agency and an employment lawyer are the right next steps; WARN back-pay claims have strict deadlines, so early advice matters more than waiting to see how things play out.

It is also worth remembering the standing caveat that runs through all WARN reporting: these are reported plans, not confirmed job losses. Filings are sometimes amended, delayed, or partially reversed, and a notice that lists 83 workers may not end with exactly 83 separations. The registry reflects what was filed, when it was filed — and updates as new information arrives.

Data source: Layoff Atlas