California Layoffs — February 2017
Employers in California posted 43 WARN Act notices in February 2017, affecting an estimated 4,092 workers — reflecting a cooling compared to January and down 46% versus February 2016. The average filing covered 95 workers, with 16 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Arts & Entertainment | 1 | 905 |
| Manufacturing | 16 | 816 |
| Professional Services | 4 | 551 |
| Information & Technology | 6 | 527 |
| Healthcare | 3 | 374 |
| Retail | 3 | 314 |
| Accommodation & Food | 1 | 225 |
| Transportation | 2 | 185 |
The Arts & Entertainment sector saw the heaviest impact with 905 workers across 1 notice. On a related front, Manufacturing reported 816 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Orange | 5 | 1,052 |
| Los Angeles | 11 | 833 |
| San Francisco | 5 | 809 |
| Santa Clara | 6 | 397 |
| San Diego | 4 | 316 |
Orange bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 26% of all affected workers with 1,052 workers across 5 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Irvine | 2 | 949 |
| San Francisco | 4 | 744 |
| San Diego | 4 | 316 |
| Monterey Park | 1 | 290 |
| Los Angeles | 5 | 266 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 15 | 2,080 |
| Layoff | 26 | 1,687 |
| Temporary Closure | 1 | 225 |
| Temporary Layoff | 1 | 100 |
The high proportion of closures (56% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in California's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live Nation Worldwide | Irvine | 905 | Closure | |
| Dignity Health | Monterey Park | 290 | Closure | |
| YourPeople, Inc. d/b/a Zenefits FTW | San Francisco | 254 | Layoff | |
| The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe | Truckee | 225 | Temporary Closure | |
| Gap | San Francisco | 216 | Layoff | |
| Puglia Engineering | San Francisco | 184 | Closure | |
| Space Systems/Loral | Palo Alto | 161 | Layoff | |
| LPL Financial | San Diego | 133 | Layoff | |
| Storm8 | Redwood City | 131 | Layoff | |
| Bay City Television | San Diego | 127 | Layoff | |
| Mountain View | 104 | Layoff | ||
| SP Plus | Los Angeles | 101 | Closure | |
| Wing Inflatables | Arcata | 100 | Temporary Layoff | |
| Fitbit | San Francisco | 90 | Layoff | |
| Shutterfly | Santa Clara | 87 | Closure |
The largest notice was filed by Live Nation Worldwide at its Irvine facility, reporting 905 affected workers. Dignity Health followed with 290 workers.
Trend & Outlook
The trends suggest a easing in workforce disruptions across California, with filings falling below both recent and year-ago levels. The Arts & Entertainment 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.