Laid off from KBR.
At KBR the layoff notice usually follows a contract date rather than a reorganization. Fort Irwin's covered 758 positions for a cut KBR put at 60 or fewer, a lost NASA range contract ended 118 jobs at Wallops, a 2025 EROS notice came before KBR won that USGS work back, and the newest California filing of 650 jobs has no cause on record.
At a glance
What's known about KBR severance and layoffs
- 10 all-time filings, 4 since 2025 began · In our WARN tracker
- 1,526 across California, Virginia and South Dakota · Jobs on those four filings
- 758 positions, Fort Irwin, March 2026 · Largest 2026 filing
- 60 or fewer, after union bumping rights · What KBR said that cut would be
- 118 jobs, ROC II ended June 2026 · Wallops Island round
- ARES Technical Services, awarded January 2026 · Who won the Wallops follow-on
- No jobs number, matching the notice · Sioux Falls row
- No terms on record for these four rounds · Severance terms
Recent KBR layoffs
KBR's newest tracker row is a May 2026 California filing listing 650 jobs
The newest KBR filing in our WARN tracker is dated May 24, 2026 in California and lists 650 jobs, no terms on record and nothing in the reporting we track explaining it. It landed about eleven weeks after the March 2026 Fort Irwin notice, where the state report carried 758 affected positions and KBR put the expected cut at 60 or fewer once union bumping rights were applied.
Previous rounds
KBR layoff history
KBR is a government and defense services company, and most of its work sits inside contracts that carry an end date. Its own annual report is blunt about what that does to staffing. Many KBR contracts have to be recompeted when the original period of performance ends, and the company says it sometimes carries a ready workforce larger than existing contracts need, in expectation of awards it hasn't won yet. If one of those awards slips or goes elsewhere, the filing says KBR may take costs from reductions in staff. Revenue from the U.S. government made up 57% of its total for fiscal 2025. Our tracker holds 10 all-time filings under the KBR name, with 4 filings covering 1,526 jobs since the start of 2025.
The March 2026 filing drew the coverage, and it shows how far a WARN number can sit from an actual layoff. California's public report listed 758 affected positions at Fort Irwin, among them 482 tactical vehicle mechanics, 42 parts clerks and 31 technical wheel inspectors. KBR said 758 workers at the base had been notified. A spokesperson told the San Francisco Chronicle the notice went to employees, union representatives and state and local officials to meet the required 60 days of warning, and that specific impacted positions hadn't been finalized when it went out. KBR told Hoodline the 758 covered positions before union bumping rights were applied, and put the final represented total at unknown but anticipated to be 60 or less. The Chronicle reported the cut at around 60 workers, mostly 35 tactical vehicle mechanics, 15 lead mechanics and nine warehouse workers, and later noted its earlier figure had come from incorrect EDD data.
Virginia went the other way, because there the contract genuinely left. KBR Wyle Services told the state on May 1, 2026 that it planned to lay off 118 employees at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on June 30, after losing the follow-on to Range Operations Contract II, the launch range support work NASA awarded it in 2019. In January 2026 NASA gave the successor Wallops Range Contract to ARES Technical Services, a potential $339.8 million over a one-year base and four optional years. KBR's letter said it anticipated many ROC II employees may transition to the awarded company with no break in service. The notice didn't say ARES had offered anyone a job, so calling the winning contractor yourself, early, is worth the hour.
South Dakota shows the same mechanism running backwards. KBR's HR manager wrote to TSSC V employees on September 29, 2025 that the contract supporting the Earth Resources Observation and Science Data Center would end December 1, and that they should expect layoff on or about December 2, across every remote and onsite worker in Sioux Falls. The transmittal to the state said the notice went out because KBR hadn't gotten an extension or won the next five-year contract. Employees were told the layoff might prove temporary or permanent depending on Interior Department decisions nobody knew yet, with no transfer opportunities available. Our tracker's row carries no jobs number, which is what the notice gave. Then on January 5, 2026 KBR announced it had won that contract after all, a $350 million ceiling award and its fifth consecutive one, with performance running June 2, 2026 through June 1, 2031.
Your own paperwork settles more of this than the coverage does. Under California's WARN Act, an employer with 75 or more employees owes written warning 60 days ahead of a mass layoff, plant closure or relocation, once the action reaches 50 or more people inside 30 days. The state also makes that employer list job titles, the number affected by each, and whether bumping rights exist along with the union's name, which is the machinery that put 758 positions on a notice about a much smaller cut. If a union represents you, that agreement is where any bumping and recall terms sit, and it repays reading before you sign anything. Once a notice is filed, the local workforce board makes contact to set up Rapid Response, covering job search help, training and unemployment benefits. No severance terms are on record for the four rounds on this page. Our WARN tracker holds all 10 KBR filings behind the numbers here.
Reporting on previous KBR layoff rounds
May 2026, California · A California filing dated May 24, 2026 lists 650 jobs and is the newest KBR row in our tracker. There's nothing in the reporting we track naming its worksite or its cause.
May 2026, Wallops Island, Virginia · KBR Wyle Services told Virginia on May 1, 2026 that it planned to lay off 118 employees at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on June 30, after losing the follow-on to Range Operations Contract II. NASA gave the successor Wallops Range Contract to ARES Technical Services in January 2026.
KBR's letter anticipated that many ROC II employees may transition to the awarded company with no break in service, while all KBR operations on the contract would cease June 30, 2026. No terms on record.
March 2026, Fort Irwin, California · California's public report carried 758 affected positions at Building 896, Langford Lake Road, effective May 6. KBR said 758 workers had been notified and put the expected cut at around 60, filing the reason as a decrease in work allocated from customers.
October 2025, Sioux Falls, South Dakota · KBR noticed every remote and onsite worker on the TSSC V contract at the EROS Data Center for layoff on or about December 2, 2025. Our tracker's row carries no jobs number, matching the notice.
The letter promised pay for time worked through the layoff date and a note to follow about continuing benefits, with no transfer opportunities then. No terms on record.
How KBR's layoffs compare to other companies
Where a KBR round has a documented cause, it's a contract date rather than a savings program, so the question after a notice here is which contract ended and whether the work stayed put under a different employer. For the newest California filing, 650 jobs in May 2026, there's nothing in the reporting we track.
What to do after being laid off from KBR
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. KBR's biggest hubs: California, Virginia, South Dakota. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what KBR's hub states run: California, Virginia, South Dakota, and every other state is here.
- Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
- Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
- Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.
KBR layoff and severance questions
Why did KBR file a WARN notice for 758 jobs at Fort Irwin when it expected to cut 60?
California makes an employer list affected job titles, the number affected by each, and whether bumping rights exist. A KBR spokesperson told the San Francisco Chronicle that "at the time the notice was issued, specific impacted positions had not yet been finalized," so the company noticed the relevant employee population. KBR told Hoodline the 758 covered positions before union bumping rights were applied, putting the final represented total at "unknown but anticipate being 60 or less."
What happened to KBR's Fort Irwin contract after the March 2026 layoff notice?
KBR announced on May 4, 2026 that it had received a $145 million LOGCAP V task order modification for maintenance, supply and logistics support at the Army's National Training Center at Fort Irwin, running March 12, 2026 to March 11, 2027.
Does KBR pay severance when a contract ends?
No terms on record for any of the rounds on this page. The one KBR notice that spells anything out is the South Dakota WARN letter, which told EROS workers they'd be paid for time worked through the layoff date and would hear separately about continuing their benefits. It names no severance. Any severance terms that apply to you would sit in your own separation agreement or in a union contract covering your job, so those are the documents to read first.
Will the contractor that won my KBR contract hire me?
In the Wallops case KBR's letter said it anticipated many employees supporting ROC II may transition to the awarded company in their current capacity with no break in service, while all KBR operations on the contract would cease June 30, 2026. What the notice didn't say is that ARES had offered anyone a job. Treat it as a prompt to contact the winning contractor yourself, early, and ask what they're doing about incumbent staff.
How much notice does California require before a mass layoff?
Sixty days, in writing, ahead of a mass layoff, plant closure or relocation. The rule reaches employers with 75 or more employees once the action is a layoff of 50 or more people within 30 days, a facility closure or a relocation. The EDD sets out those thresholds, and whether they covered your separation depends on the site, the employer and the size of the action.
Where do I file for unemployment after being laid off from KBR?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. KBR's biggest U.S. hubs are California, Virginia, South Dakota. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.
Is it OK to file for unemployment after a layoff at KBR?
Yes. Unemployment insurance is funded by payroll taxes employers pay on wages, the claim never appears on credit reports or background checks, and future employers cannot see it. If the hesitation itself is the obstacle, whether filing is OK has its own article.
What happens to my health insurance after a layoff at KBR?
Your plan sets the end date rather than the law, so the separation packet is where that date actually lives, and it is often the last day of the month rather than your last day of work. After coverage ends, COBRA lets you keep the identical plan by paying the whole premium yourself, up to 102 percent of what the plan really costs, which lands as several times the payroll deduction you were used to. You get 60 days to elect, counted from the later of coverage ending or the election notice arriving, and electing reaches the coverage back to the day the old plan stopped so no gap exists. How continuation coverage works walks the timing, and whether to take it rather than a marketplace plan is a separate decision.
Should I sign the severance agreement right away?
First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from KBR?
Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.