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What steps are included in Borton & Sons’ filing?

Borton & Sons said in a WARN notice that it will lay off 928 H-2A agricultural workers employed in its Washington operations in November. According to the plan, the departures will take place between Nov. 8 and Nov. 15 at multiple production and packing locations.

The affected employees were identified as general farmworkers employed under the federal H-2A program. The program allows U.S. agricultural businesses to hire temporary or seasonal foreign workers when there is not enough domestic labor available.

Scope of the layoffs and unanswered questions

According to the company’s notice, the process covers the following sites:

  • Yakima, Zillah, Pasco and Burbank
  • Prescott, Soap Lake, Othello and Mesa

Borton acknowledged that post-harvest seasonal layoffs are normal in agriculture. But the notable point in this notice was that all 928 separations were classified as permanent, with no specific recall date or clear staffing need identified for 2027.

The company also said it was still unclear whether additional local workers would be affected because of weather conditions, crop status and worker turnover during the remaining harvest. That suggests labor planning could continue to shift through the end of the season.

What do Washington farm labor figures show more broadly?

State data from the Employment Security Department show that between November 2024 and November 2025, Washington recorded 20 layoff notices linked to agriculture, affecting 14,831 workers, mostly seasonal employees. These filings covered not only farms but also organizations that provide services to agricultural employers.

Other notices of similar size

  • Stemilt Ag Services: 1,561 seasonal H-2A field workers
  • AgriMACS: 1,368 workers
  • Gebbers Farms: 3,465 workers
  • FirstFruits: 1,200 workers

The data show that while Borton’s filing is large, it is not an isolated case in Washington agriculture. State officials have said that in the past, seasonal layoffs were not always reflected in WARN records because of federal rules, and reporting changes have made these swings more visible.

What could this mean for wages and the apple market?

The U.S. Department of Labor changed the 2025 H-2A wage calculation method. Instead of broad state or regional averages, it moved to a system based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data that separates entry-level from experienced workers; the value of employer-provided housing can also affect cash wages in the calculation.

Washington also accounts for a large share of the H-2A workforce. Labor Department data show the state represented about 9% of approved H-2A positions nationwide in the first three quarters of fiscal 2025.

That workforce supports one of the country’s biggest fruit markets. USDA data show Washington produced about 7.16 billion pounds of apples for use in 2025, worth $1.89 billion at the farm level. The roughly 5.66 billion pounds that went to the fresh market were valued at $1.75 billion.

The numbers point to a labor schedule that is highly uneven behind the steady supply on grocery shelves. As the harvest window narrows, both growers’ labor costs and workers’ income continuity come under pressure.

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