California Layoffs — August 2016
Employers in California filed 52 WARN Act notices in August 2016, impacting roughly 6,679 workers — representing a notable rise over July and up 13% versus August 2015. The average filing covered 128 workers, with 19 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 21 | 3,590 |
| Information & Technology | 4 | 448 |
| Transportation | 2 | 417 |
| Healthcare | 2 | 322 |
| Accommodation & Food | 4 | 264 |
| Agriculture | 1 | 145 |
| Utilities | 2 | 108 |
| Mining & Energy | 1 | 72 |
The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 3,590 workers across 21 notices. In a parallel development, Information & Technology reported 448 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara | 7 | 1,538 |
| Los Angeles | 9 | 1,351 |
| Orange | 8 | 947 |
| San Bernardino | 1 | 900 |
| San Mateo | 6 | 519 |
Santa Clara absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 23% of all affected workers with 1,538 workers across 7 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose | 4 | 1,536 |
| Colton | 1 | 900 |
| Santa Fe Springs | 1 | 647 |
| San Francisco | 4 | 355 |
| Hawaiian Gardens | 1 | 318 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 33 | 3,792 |
| Closure | 19 | 2,887 |
Closures accounted for 43% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashley Furniture Industries | Colton | 900 | Closure | |
| Cisco Systems | San Jose | 899 | Layoff | |
| JBS USA Food | Santa Fe Springs | 647 | Closure | |
| Ericsson | San Jose | 435 | Closure | |
| SkyWest Airlines | San Francisco | 325 | Layoff | |
| Gardens Regional Hospital and Medical | Hawaiian Gardens | 318 | Layoff | |
| Alaska Air Group | Burlingame | 275 | Layoff | |
| Hewlett Packard Enterprise | Sunnyvale | 208 | Layoff | |
| Micrel | San Jose | 195 | Layoff | |
| Silgan Containers | Riverbank | 177 | Layoff | |
| Brooks Institute | Ventura | 169 | Closure | |
| Golden Valley Citrus | Strathmore | 145 | Layoff | |
| The Lash Group | San Bruno | 133 | Closure | |
| Balda C. Brewer | Anaheim | 130 | Closure | |
| BCBG Max Azria Group | Vernon | 123 | Layoff |
The single largest action involved Ashley Furniture Industries at its Colton facility, reporting 900 affected workers. Cisco Systems followed with 899 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The data underscores mounting pressure on the California labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Manufacturing 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.