News Releases

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., January 18, 2001
Westaff, Inc. (NASDAQ: WSTF), a leading provider of essential staffing services, announces the opening of a new branch office and Mexican headquarters operation in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

Under the direction of Westaff Senior Vice President and Southwest Zone Manager Rosa Santana, and Country Manager Juan Ivan Alvarez, the Ciudad Juárez office marks the launch of Westaff de México, an initial step of expansion into Mexico.

"We are looking to enter into the Latin market through our branch in Ciudad Juárez, and we will be looking into expanding to other cities in Mexico in the future," Santana said. "The strategy of Westaff de México is to position Westaff as a leader in staffing in Mexico by expanding to major industrial cities there."

Situated on the border of two nations, Ciudad Juárez's location presents a unique array of business opportunities for Westaff and Westaff de México. Ciudad Juárez - with a population nearing 1.5 million - and its sister city - El Paso, TX - comprise the largest metropolitan area on the borders between Texas and New Mexico, and the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

A commercial and food-processing center, Ciudad Juárez is also a port of entry with a large tourist trade. Over 70 Fortune 500 companies have discovered the myriad of resources the Juárez-El Paso area has to offer businesses. A highly productive labor force, strategic location, intelligent infrastructure and a unique quality of life all combine to make Ciudad Juárez a remarkably attractive site to live, work and play.

"There's a big market in Ciudad Juárez with a huge demand for temporary jobs and temporary employees," Alvarez said.

"We see great opportunity for the use of staffing services in Mexico," Santana added. "As American businesses continue moving south of the border, the demand for labor moves with them. Additionally, many Mexican companies are now aware of the benefits of a flexible workforce, so there is a definite need for our services."

Westaff provides essential staffing services to and employment opportunities at competitive businesses in global markets. Westaff annually employs approximately 270,000 people worldwide and services approximately 25,000 clients from more than 350 offices located throughout the U.S., Mexico, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Denmark. Westaff achieved fiscal 2000 system revenues of more than $700 million. For information about Westaff's operations in Mexico, contact Rosa Santana at (915) 544-0048, or visit Westaff's Web site at www.westaff.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and future performance of the company that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. We refer you to documents that the company files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports, which contain a description of certain factors that could cause actual results to differ from current expectations and the forward-looking statements in this press release.