California Layoffs — March 2019

Employers in California submitted 76 WARN Act notices in March 2019, putting at risk an estimated 6,544 workers — up substantially from February and up 38% versus March 2018. The average filing covered 86 workers, with 34 closures among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

The Manufacturing sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 2,364 workers across 19 notices. Separately, Information & Technology reported 1,640 workers.

Geographic Hotspots

Santa Clara absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 16% of all affected workers with 1,062 workers across 15 notices.

Layoff Type Analysis

Closures accounted for 27% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.

Largest Layoffs

Topping the list was Tesla at its Fremont facility, reporting 964 affected workers. Vincent B. Zaninovich & Sons followed with 511 workers.

Trend & Outlook

After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.

These figures highlight 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.