The coronavirus outbreak’s immediate impact on Austin’s job market is starting to become clear.

Documents released Tuesday by the Texas Workforce Commission show that more than 900 metro-area employees have been laid off this month — some temporarily, others permanently — due to the downturn caused by the virus.

The layoffs — involving 910 total employees at six companies with area operations — are detailed in WARN letters sent to the Texas Workforce Commission. A WARN letter — which stands for Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act — is a federally mandated notice employers must provide to state governments in the event of major layoffs.

The layoffs are far from the total number of job losses in the Austin metro area this month. Not all layoffs reach the threshold required to trigger a WARN letter, and some companies that have laid off workers might not yet have submitted letters.

The list of WARN letters released by the commission Tuesday includes layoff notices from 34 companies with operations in Texas. Those companies are laying off or furloughing a combined 4,439 Texas workers, according to commission data.

In Austin, the first wave of layoffs began with locally owned restaurants, retailers and other small businesses. ALC Steaks on North Lamar, for instance, said last week it was forced to cut all 28 hourly employees. Austin-based JuiceLand said it closed 23 of its 34 locations and laid off about 225 people as revenues plunged by 80%.

Economist Brian Kelsey said the layoffs are an unfortunate ripple effect as businesses ranging from mom-and-pop merchants to large companies scale back or shut down entirely in response to coronavirus.

"There are a lot of panicked hourly, part-time and contract workers out there right now with no guaranteed source of income trying to figure out how to cover rent, basic necessities and simply get through this period with some level of comfort," said Kelsey, research director with the Capital of Texas Media Foundation. "To what extent will they continue to purchase retail and related goods through credit? How far will discretionary spending fall for higher-income households because of what's happening with the markets? You can't model this like a typical recession. In a typical recession, we're not sheltering in place at home."

A growing number of technology companies have begun downsizing.

Austin-based online shipping company uShip said it was laying off 65 employees or about 37% of the company's workforce. In a letter, CEO Kris Lamb said the company is unable to continue with every employee amid the "sudden and prolonged uncertainty" caused by the outbreak.

Meanwhile, Austin-based accelerator and incubator Capital Factory has shifted all services and programming to virtual platforms and furloughed more than 40 employees. The furloughs account for about half of the incubator’s employees, according to CEO and founder Joshua Baer.

Disco, an Austin-based legal software startup, also said it has laid off employees as it braces for economic uncertainty.

According to the workforce commission, other layoffs in the Austin area include:

– Four Seasons Austin Management, operator of the Four Seasons Hotel Austin downtown, will furlough or reduce hours for 369 workers, according to the company’s WARN letter.

– Proper Austin HM LLC, the operator of Austin Proper Hotel and Residences at 600 W. Second St., will furlough 194 employees. The company said it hopes the furloughs will be temporary, but that they could become permanent.

– Sydell Hotels LLC, the operator of the Line Austin Hotel, 111 E. Cesar Chavez St., is laying off 181 workers. The company said it’s unsure if the layoffs will be permanent.

– Dyn365, doing business locally as Restaurant365, is laying off 95 workers from its Austin office at 9050 N. Capital of Texas Highway, according to the company’s WARN letter. The layoffs are expected to be permanent, according to the company.

– Sport Clips Inc., the Georgetown-based hair care chain, is laying off 66 employees, some at its Williamson County headquarters and some at other locations. The layoffs are expected to be permanent, the company said in the WARN letter.

Sport Clips has "seen an extremely significant unanticipated and dramatic major economic downturn in business, revenue and customers," according to the WARN letter.

In a statement to the Statesman, the company said, "We are communicating regularly with our furloughed team members to keep them up to date on these initiatives so they can see that we are definitely looking to the future and that we are planning to recall as many as possible as soon as possible."

– SA Burger, a subsidiary of San Antonio-based Weston Entertainment, is laying off five employees from its location in San Marcos.

Austin economist Angelos Angelou said this first round of local job losses will regrettably be followed by more. Some businesses will get a lifeline from Small Business Administration loans, but that could take months, he said.

"It is likely we are going to see significant unemployment filings, and it’s likely that this is going to continue for several months before some of the measures can be lifted," Angelou said. "There’s no way a business can sustain itself without any revenue."

American-Statesman staff writer Kara Carlson contributed to this report.