California Layoffs — May 2016
Employers in California logged 87 WARN Act notices in May 2016, involving roughly 5,704 workers — climbing above April and up 26% versus May 2015. The average filing covered 66 workers, with 40 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Information & Technology | 14 | 1,336 |
| Manufacturing | 13 | 1,090 |
| Retail | 22 | 988 |
| Accommodation & Food | 7 | 576 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 2 | 348 |
| Utilities | 5 | 232 |
| Healthcare | 6 | 178 |
| Professional Services | 1 | 141 |
The Information & Technology sector dominated layoff filings with 1,336 workers across 14 notices. Meanwhile, Manufacturing reported 1,090 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 15 | 1,251 |
| San Bernardino | 9 | 901 |
| Santa Clara | 9 | 785 |
| San Diego | 6 | 660 |
| Kern | 3 | 252 |
Los Angeles felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 22% of all affected workers with 1,251 workers across 15 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 3 | 616 |
| San Diego | 4 | 549 |
| Vernon | 2 | 422 |
| Mountain View | 3 | 271 |
| Fontana | 3 | 258 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 46 | 3,561 |
| Closure | 39 | 2,073 |
| Temporary Layoff | 1 | 53 |
| Temporary Closure | 1 | 17 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homemade Real Foods | Vernon | 316 | Layoff | |
| AEG Management Ontario | Ontario | 280 | Layoff | |
| Western Digital Technology | San Jose | 232 | Layoff | |
| Ardea Biosciences | San Diego | 193 | Layoff | |
| Solar Link International | Ontario | 169 | Layoff | |
| Zodiac Seat Shells U.S | Santa Maria | 168 | Layoff | |
| Levy Restaurants | Ontario | 167 | Closure | |
| Versi-Staff Solutions | North Hollywood | 150 | Layoff | |
| Scripps Health | San Diego | 150 | Layoff | |
| Ardea Biosciences | San Diego | 141 | Layoff | |
| Kmart | Los Angeles | 132 | Closure | |
| Benz Sanitation Inc, Benz Propane | Tehachapi | 132 | Layoff | |
| Veritas Technologies | Mountain View | 128 | Layoff | |
| Veritas Technologies | Mountain View | 128 | Layoff | |
| National Retail Transportation | Fontana | 125 | Closure |
The biggest impact was at Homemade Real Foods at its Vernon facility, reporting 316 affected workers. AEG Management Ontario followed with 280 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
This data points to 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.