California Layoffs — February 2015
Employers in California reported 63 WARN Act notices in February 2015, displacing an estimated 6,780 workers — signaling an acceleration from January and up 142% versus February 2014. The average filing covered 108 workers, with 20 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Information & Technology | 14 | 1,976 |
| Manufacturing | 15 | 918 |
| Healthcare | 5 | 841 |
| Retail | 7 | 722 |
| Accommodation & Food | 3 | 476 |
| Mining & Energy | 3 | 316 |
| Agriculture | 1 | 271 |
| Transportation | 2 | 238 |
The Information & Technology sector topped the list of affected industries with 1,976 workers across 14 notices. Notably, Manufacturing reported 918 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 21 | 1,670 |
| San Francisco | 5 | 930 |
| Contra Costa | 2 | 783 |
| San Diego | 7 | 719 |
| San Bernardino | 1 | 443 |
Los Angeles bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 25% of all affected workers with 1,670 workers across 21 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Pablo | 1 | 709 |
| San Jose | 1 | 538 |
| San Diego | 5 | 492 |
| Fort Irwin | 1 | 443 |
| Redwood City | 1 | 403 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 43 | 4,280 |
| Closure | 20 | 2,500 |
Closures accounted for 37% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctors Medical Center | San Pablo | 709 | Layoff | |
| eBay | San Jose | 538 | Layoff | |
| Northrop Grumman Technical | Fort Irwin | 443 | Layoff | |
| DreamWorks Animation | Redwood City | 403 | Closure | |
| Farmer Brothers | Torrance | 271 | Closure | |
| Marriott International | Truckee | 259 | Closure | |
| DialAmerica | San Diego | 227 | Closure | |
| Safeway | West Sacramento | 213 | Closure | |
| Mandarin Oriental San Francisco | San Francisco | 193 | Layoff | |
| Centrex | Modesto | 163 | Closure | |
| Daybreak Game | San Diego | 140 | Layoff | |
| Trulia | San Francisco | 140 | Layoff | |
| Nabors Completion & Production | Compton | 136 | Layoff | |
| Menzies Aviation LAX | Los Angeles | 134 | Layoff | |
| PennySaver USA Printing | Vista | 131 | Closure |
The most significant filing came from Doctors Medical Center at its San Pablo facility, reporting 709 affected workers. eBay followed with 538 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The numbers illustrate mounting pressure on the California labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Information & Technology sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by California. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers with 100+ employees to provide 60-day advance notice of mass layoffs and plant closings. Data is updated daily by WARN Firehose. View all California WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.