California Layoffs — May 2018
Employers in California posted 64 WARN Act notices in May 2018, affecting an estimated 5,960 workers — reflecting a cooling compared to April and up 19% versus May 2017. The average filing covered 93 workers, with 39 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | 2 | 953 |
| Professional Services | 2 | 773 |
| Finance & Insurance | 4 | 751 |
| Manufacturing | 17 | 616 |
| Information & Technology | 10 | 614 |
| Accommodation & Food | 9 | 613 |
| Healthcare | 5 | 338 |
| Transportation | 2 | 243 |
The Retail sector saw the heaviest impact with 953 workers across 2 notices. On a related front, Professional Services reported 773 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 15 | 1,453 |
| Santa Clara | 6 | 1,074 |
| Kern | 3 | 1,037 |
| San Diego | 8 | 536 |
| San Francisco | 4 | 429 |
Los Angeles felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 24% of all affected workers with 1,453 workers across 15 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose | 2 | 959 |
| Edwards | 2 | 836 |
| Pasadena | 1 | 575 |
| San Francisco | 4 | 429 |
| Los Angeles | 5 | 413 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 39 | 3,252 |
| Layoff | 25 | 2,708 |
The high proportion of closures (55% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in California's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spartan Shops | San Jose | 881 | Layoff | |
| Jt3 | Edwards | 746 | Closure | |
| Bank of America | Pasadena | 575 | Layoff | |
| Grimmway Farms | Bakersfield | 201 | Closure | |
| First Student | Los Angeles | 174 | Closure | |
| Sodexo | Seaside | 163 | Closure | |
| SYR Service | Montecito | 161 | Layoff | |
| DENSO Wireless Systems America | Vista | 160 | Closure | |
| SSB Manufacturing | San Leandro | 153 | Closure | |
| Johanson Dielectrics | Sylmar | 153 | Layoff | |
| RA Center | San Francisco | 140 | Closure | |
| Bechtel Global | San Francisco | 126 | Closure | |
| Campari America | San Francisco | 95 | Closure | |
| Unisys | Edwards | 90 | Layoff | |
| Soleil Communications, Inc. and Apollo | San Diego | 88 | Closure |
The largest notice was filed by Spartan Shops at its San Jose facility, reporting 881 affected workers. Jt3 followed with 746 workers.
Trend & Outlook
The trends suggest a mixed picture for California's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. The Retail 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.