California Layoffs — January 2019
Employers in California posted 59 WARN Act notices in January 2019, affecting an estimated 6,595 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to December and down 9% versus January 2018. The average filing covered 112 workers, with 26 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Information & Technology | 22 | 1,722 |
| Healthcare | 3 | 1,551 |
| Transportation | 6 | 1,099 |
| Manufacturing | 11 | 881 |
| Retail | 5 | 370 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 1 | 355 |
| Education | 1 | 182 |
| Finance & Insurance | 4 | 170 |
The Information & Technology sector saw the heaviest impact with 1,722 workers across 22 notices. On a related front, Healthcare reported 1,551 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 16 | 1,654 |
| Butte | 2 | 1,373 |
| San Francisco | 12 | 1,159 |
| Riverside | 3 | 748 |
| Santa Clara | 8 | 592 |
Los Angeles saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 25% of all affected workers with 1,654 workers across 16 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Paradise | 2 | 1,373 |
| San Francisco | 12 | 1,159 |
| Mira Loma | 2 | 665 |
| Hawthorne | 1 | 577 |
| El Segundo | 3 | 330 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 26 | 3,909 |
| Layoff | 33 | 2,686 |
The high proportion of closures (59% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in California's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adventist Health Feather River | Paradise | 1,331 | Closure | |
| Space Exploration Technologies | Hawthorne | 577 | Layoff | |
| Schneider Logistics Transloading And | Mira Loma | 461 | Layoff | |
| Chariot Transit | San Francisco | 383 | Closure | |
| Gymboree Group | San Francisco | 355 | Layoff | |
| Carlisle Interconnect Technologies | El Segundo | 255 | Closure | |
| Woodward | Duarte | 209 | Closure | |
| Corelle Brands | Mira Loma | 204 | Closure | |
| Verity Medical Foundation | San Jose | 200 | Closure | |
| Cengage Learning | San Francisco | 182 | Closure | |
| Jacobs Technology | Edwards | 134 | Layoff | |
| XPO Logistics Worldwide | Rialto | 126 | Closure | |
| VMware | Palo Alto | 126 | Layoff | |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Hayward | 103 | Closure | |
| McCain Foods | Colton | 100 | Closure |
The largest notice was filed by Adventist Health Feather River at its Paradise facility, reporting 1,331 affected workers. Space Exploration Technologies followed with 577 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The trends suggest a mixed picture for California's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. 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.