California Layoffs — September 2017
Employers in California posted 58 WARN Act notices in September 2017, affecting an estimated 4,564 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to August and up 11% versus September 2016. The average filing covered 79 workers, with 19 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Information & Technology | 5 | 1,370 |
| Manufacturing | 14 | 1,142 |
| Healthcare | 24 | 747 |
| Retail | 5 | 487 |
| Agriculture | 4 | 422 |
| Finance & Insurance | 3 | 165 |
| Accommodation & Food | 1 | 94 |
| Utilities | 1 | 78 |
The Information & Technology sector saw the heaviest impact with 1,370 workers across 5 notices. On a related front, Manufacturing reported 1,142 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara | 6 | 1,411 |
| Los Angeles | 18 | 931 |
| Orange | 7 | 434 |
| Monterey | 3 | 372 |
| Kern | 1 | 293 |
Santa Clara was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 31% of all affected workers with 1,411 workers across 6 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara | 5 | 1,101 |
| Long Beach | 5 | 362 |
| San Jose | 1 | 310 |
| China Lake | 1 | 293 |
| Salinas | 2 | 257 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 39 | 2,827 |
| Closure | 19 | 1,737 |
Closures accounted for 38% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle America | Santa Clara | 964 | Layoff | |
| Cisco Systems | San Jose | 310 | Layoff | |
| PAE Aviation and Technical Services | China Lake | 293 | Closure | |
| Molina Healthcare | Long Beach | 194 | Layoff | |
| Merrill Farms | Salinas | 180 | Closure | |
| Silgan Containers | Riverbank | 162 | Layoff | |
| Molina Healthcare of California | Long Beach | 145 | Layoff | |
| Vons Companies | El Monte | 142 | Closure | |
| Beckman Coulter | Chatsworth | 141 | Closure | |
| Graphic Packaging International | Santa Clara | 127 | Closure | |
| Restoration Hardware | Mira Loma | 122 | Layoff | |
| George Amaral Ranches | Gonzales | 115 | Closure | |
| Stearns Lending | Santa Ana | 112 | Layoff | |
| Super Store Industries | Fairfield | 111 | Layoff | |
| Allergan | Irvine | 111 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Oracle America at its Santa Clara facility, reporting 964 affected workers. Cisco Systems followed with 310 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The trends suggest 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.