California Layoffs — August 2018
Employers in California reported 57 WARN Act notices in August 2018, displacing an estimated 6,729 workers — signaling an acceleration from July and up 58% versus August 2017. The average filing covered 118 workers, with 29 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 12 | 2,435 |
| Retail | 15 | 1,883 |
| Information & Technology | 8 | 556 |
| Finance & Insurance | 5 | 493 |
| Transportation | 4 | 404 |
| Accommodation & Food | 2 | 272 |
| Government | 2 | 213 |
| Agriculture | 1 | 155 |
The Manufacturing sector topped the list of affected industries with 2,435 workers across 12 notices. Notably, Retail reported 1,883 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego | 5 | 1,842 |
| Orange | 8 | 1,045 |
| Los Angeles | 12 | 731 |
| Santa Clara | 5 | 566 |
| Stanislaus | 5 | 459 |
San Diego absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 27% of all affected workers with 1,842 workers across 5 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego | 2 | 1,551 |
| San Jose | 3 | 489 |
| Irvine | 2 | 426 |
| San Francisco | 3 | 365 |
| Tracy | 2 | 323 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 28 | 4,072 |
| Closure | 29 | 2,657 |
Closures accounted for 39% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Steel and Shipbuilding | San Diego | 1,493 | Layoff | |
| Orchard Supply | San Jose | 406 | Closure | |
| JCPenney | Buena Park | 278 | Closure | |
| Orchard Supply | Tracy | 249 | Closure | |
| Global Cash Card | Irvine | 228 | Layoff | |
| Genentech, Inc. and Genentech USA | South San | 223 | Layoff | |
| Wells Fargo | Irvine | 198 | Closure | |
| DJO Global | Vista | 187 | Layoff | |
| InterContinental Hotels Group Resources | San Francisco | 186 | Layoff | |
| Menzies Aviation | San Francisco | 172 | Layoff | |
| Trinity Christian Center of Santa Ana | Tustin | 166 | Layoff | |
| Silgan Containers | Riverbank | 157 | Layoff | |
| Oxnard Lemon | Oxnard | 155 | Layoff | |
| Orchard Supply | Los Angeles | 137 | Closure | |
| Orchard Supply | Pasadena | 125 | Closure |
The most significant filing came from National Steel and Shipbuilding at its San Diego facility, reporting 1,493 affected workers. Orchard Supply followed with 406 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The numbers illustrate 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.