California Layoffs — May 2017
Employers in California submitted 58 WARN Act notices in May 2017, putting at risk an estimated 5,025 workers — up substantially from April and down 12% versus May 2016. The average filing covered 87 workers, with 24 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 21 | 1,930 |
| Information & Technology | 12 | 1,108 |
| Agriculture | 5 | 501 |
| Retail | 3 | 222 |
| Finance & Insurance | 4 | 203 |
| Construction | 1 | 170 |
| Government | 1 | 160 |
| Education | 1 | 45 |
The Manufacturing sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 1,930 workers across 21 notices. Separately, Information & Technology reported 1,108 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Orange | 16 | 1,160 |
| Contra Costa | 2 | 743 |
| Santa Clara | 9 | 743 |
| Kern | 4 | 554 |
| San Diego | 4 | 356 |
Orange felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 23% of all affected workers with 1,160 workers across 16 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose | 3 | 680 |
| Pittsburg | 1 | 635 |
| Bakersfield | 2 | 387 |
| San Diego | 3 | 298 |
| La Palma | 1 | 280 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 34 | 3,026 |
| Closure | 24 | 1,999 |
Closures accounted for 40% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USS-POSCO Industries | Pittsburg | 635 | Layoff | |
| Kellogg | La Palma | 280 | Closure | |
| Cisco Systems | San Jose | 250 | Layoff | |
| Cisco Systems | San Jose | 250 | Layoff | |
| Kellogg | Roseville | 230 | Closure | |
| Grimmway Farms | Bakersfield | 217 | Layoff | |
| Charter Communications | Palm Desert | 206 | Closure | |
| Keurig Green Mountain | Castroville | 183 | Closure | |
| Le Technology, Inc.d.b.a Le Eco | San Jose | 180 | Layoff | |
| Braden Partners L.P., DBA Pacific | Bakersfield | 170 | Layoff | |
| Angelica Textile Services | Gilroy | 160 | Closure | |
| St. John Knits | Irvine | 130 | Layoff | |
| Fjs | Anaheim | 121 | Layoff | |
| Hines Growers | San Juan | 115 | Closure | |
| Grimmway Farms | Arvin | 114 | Layoff |
Topping the list was USS-POSCO Industries at its Pittsburg facility, reporting 635 affected workers. Kellogg followed with 280 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
These figures highlight a mixed picture for California's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. 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.