California Layoffs — November 2019
Employers in California logged 58 WARN Act notices in November 2019, involving roughly 4,085 workers — falling below October and down 30% versus November 2018. The average filing covered 70 workers, with 32 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 20 | 1,330 |
| Information & Technology | 6 | 545 |
| Retail | 5 | 421 |
| Wholesale Trade | 1 | 329 |
| Accommodation & Food | 4 | 284 |
| Education | 2 | 280 |
| Finance & Insurance | 6 | 224 |
| Other | 3 | 204 |
The Manufacturing sector dominated layoff filings with 1,330 workers across 20 notices. Meanwhile, Information & Technology reported 545 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara | 11 | 727 |
| Los Angeles | 12 | 656 |
| San Francisco | 4 | 553 |
| San Diego | 7 | 529 |
| Orange | 7 | 457 |
Santa Clara saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 18% of all affected workers with 727 workers across 11 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 4 | 553 |
| San Jose | 4 | 405 |
| San Diego | 2 | 298 |
| Redwood City | 1 | 202 |
| Union City | 1 | 193 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 32 | 2,509 |
| Layoff | 26 | 1,576 |
The high proportion of closures (61% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in California's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McKesson | San Francisco | 329 | Closure | |
| Ashford University | San Diego | 218 | Layoff | |
| Proteus Digital Health | Redwood City | 202 | Closure | |
| Albertsons Companies | Union City | 193 | Closure | |
| Benchmark Electronics | San Jose | 181 | Closure | |
| Karma Automotive | Irvine | 146 | Layoff | |
| Perfect Promotional Products | Camarillo | 145 | Closure | |
| Avanir Pharmaceuticals | Aliso Viejo | 140 | Layoff | |
| Hard Rock Cafe International (USA) | Universal City | 136 | Closure | |
| Tamco | Rancho Cucamonga | 114 | Closure | |
| Circa of America | San Francisco | 112 | Closure | |
| MasterCorp | Escondido | 112 | Layoff | |
| Transform SR | Ventura | 101 | Closure | |
| Barneys New York | San Francisco | 100 | Closure | |
| Gaming Fund Group | San Jose | 93 | Layoff |
The biggest impact was at McKesson at its San Francisco facility, reporting 329 affected workers. Ashford University followed with 218 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This is the third consecutive month of declining layoff activity.
This data points to a easing in workforce disruptions across California, with filings falling below both recent and year-ago levels. 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.