COVID ripples through county’s Major Employers List for 2020. Here’s who’s on it
Story has been updated.
The Economic Development Board of Tacoma-Pierce County this month released its annual list of major employers, those with a workforce of 100 or more. Its “Companies to Watch” list, also released, are those with 50-99 workers.
Though the report notes that “very few” companies dropped off the list as a result of the economic downturn resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, there still were dramatic changes, some not tied to the pandemic.
Gone altogether from the list this year are UNFI (Supervalu) food distributor and Belina Interiors, the yacht interior company, both of which closed near the end of 2019, collectively bringing to an end hundreds of jobs.
While some retailers faced the brunt of a shifting retail landscape, others managed to grow aggressively.
The top four employers in Pierce County remained the same with the top one, Joint Base Lewis-McChord at 54,000 FTEs, unchanged from 2019.
JBLM was followed by MultiCare with 8,264, the state of Washington with 7,859 employed in the county (114 more than 2019; and CHI Franciscan Health with 5,682.
MultiCare and CHI’s numbers reflect the “most recent count available.” The EDB acknowledged that updated information was not provided by 57 of the entities listed.
Tacoma Public Schools (3,649), City of Tacoma and Tacoma Public Utilities (3,623), Pierce County government (3,304), Puyallup School District (2,711), Bethel School District (2,689) and Safeway & Albertsons (2,153) round out the top 10.
Tacoma Public Schools added 168 FTEs to its total, while Bethel added 124 in 2020.
To come up with the employee totals, full-time workers count as 1 FTE, while part-time employees are accounted for based on average hours worked in a 40-hour week, according to the EDB. Example, 20 hours/week = 0.5 FTE.
Keep in mind also that budget cuts loom, so this 2020 snapshot might not endure in the following weeks or months.
ON THE FRONT LINE OF UPHEAVAL
Updated numbers were not available for Boeing, which announced massive layoffs this year because of plummeting plane orders.
Others reflected the immediate toll the pandemic has taken, showing dramatic shifts.
▪ Sekisui (formerly AIM) Aerospace in Sumner showed 361 FTES, down from 678 in 2019.
▪ Tacoma’s Tool Gauge was at 91 FTEs, down from 170 in 2019.
▪ Toray Composites of Frederickson shrunk from 565 to 450.
Nonprofits offered a mixed picture, with Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region dropping from 572 FTEs in 2019 to 412; while the Korean Women’s Association rose from 202 to 510.
Jacqueline Moffo is vice president of business development with the EDB and pulled this year’s list together.
Moffo said Goodwill faced reductions as the pandemic put a limit on its ability to safely do in-person training and other work. The organization likely would likely bounce back when the virus began to recede, she said.
“Goodwill’s not going away,” Moffo said Monday in a phone interview. “They’re going to continue to do the great work that they do. They’re just keeping safety as a priority as well. Because a lot of what their employment is also training, and it’s hard to train safely, right now, with the type of hands-on work that they do.”
UPDATE, DEC. 23: In a statement sent Dec. 23 to The News Tribune, Chris Politakis, media representative for Goodwill, said: “the vast majority of our temporary reductions were in retail, not workforce development, as we had to close all of our stores during the shutdown in the spring. But most importantly, we have continued to provide services during the pandemic and in fact we launched our Digital Work Opportunity center (DWOC) in July, in response to the COVID-19 crisis.”
“Goodwill Connect,” provides job seekers with access to Goodwill’s free job training programs and career services through an online learning portal, according to Politakis, “providing a safe, no-contact alternative to in-person job training. Anyone with an internet-connected device can access online training through the Goodwill DWOC.”
“In addition to free job training, job seekers can also access our Career Hub and connect with career counselors, job databases, and many other resources.”
Politakis noted that its coaches and case managers also continue to provide support.
KWA, Moffo noted, grew as it expanded its work in home health care.
“That was a number that we hadn’t always had updated. So we had a new chance to update, but they also have been continuously adding to their home health care services,” Moffo said. “So that’s really where their growth has been, is home health care providers.”
Bargreen Ellingson, a restaurant supply and design company, dropped from 223 FTEs to 145 this year as the hospitality industry was especially hit hard with work pauses and stoppages to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Yet another vanished altogether from the list.
Hotel Murano, still closed from the early shutdown of the pandemic, was nowhere to be found with its 202 FTEs listed in 2019. A check of its website on Monday listed a potential reopening in March.
Moffo said most employers she talked to as she compiled the list were “very hopeful that things are going to turn around.”
Two examples she offered of those persevering was James Hardie Building Products with 215 FTEs, up from 180 in 2019, and Infoblox, at 220 FTEs, up from 185.
“James Hardie has been an essential manufacturer and continuing to work through the pandemic,” she said, along with Infoblox continuing to hire remotely.
“Because we have a diverse base of employers, I think that we’re going to show great recovery in 2021,” she added.
RETAIL
Safeway/Albertsons was the sole retailer to move into the top 10 for 2020, and others also showed notable growth as the pandemic has made essential workers out of grocery workers.
Costco added an estimated 118 FTEs over 2019, moving up to No. 17 from No. 20. Amazon added 600 FTEs with its Pierce County distribution centers, moving up to No. 13 and only two short of Fred Meyer’s estimated total of 1,802 at No. 12. Last year Fred Meyer was No. 15 on the list and Amazon was No. 19.
Nordstrom dropped from 151 FTEs listed in 2019 to an estimated 134 based on industry data.
Bass Pro shrunk from 319 FTEs to an estimated 175 in 2020.
Not all cut back.
O’Reilly Auto Parts grew from 516 FTEs in 2019 to 601 in 2020.
MEDICAL AND CARE SERVICES
TRA Medical Imaging, which received one of the largest disbursements in the county from the federal Paycheck Protection Program for pandemic relief, dropped from an estimated 450 FTEs to 432 on the list.
However, in an update provided Dec. 28 to The News Tribune, the company said its original head count was 441 on its submitted SBA application, and that its current head count total is 478.
Also, according to Chris Coates, CEO of TRA, “the PPP loan has provided us the financial security to add 87.30 FTEs.”
Life Care Centers of America, whose Kirkland site became the first epicenter in the COVID-19 pandemic, showed 299 FTEs in Pierce County in 2019, based on the most recent count at that time. The number was down to 174 this year.
DaVita has continued its year-over-year reduction of workers in the county from 625 FTEs to 420 in 2020.
One entity, after all the attention it’s garnered so far tracking COVID-19, got its own entry for the first time in recent years.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department is now on the list for 2020 with 290 FTEs.
Moffo said the list overall is more than just a collection of data.
“The goal of the Major Employers List to celebrate and showcase our employers is important. And so no matter the data, this is an opportunity for us to thank our employers. And this year, I think we’re all especially grateful for those businesses that have been able to pivot quickly. They’re constantly overcoming things this year, so taking a minute just to thank them, and, you know, the community to thank them, I think, is the reason for the list.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2020 at 5:15 AM.
