California Layoffs — February 2020

Employers in California recorded 55 WARN Act notices in February 2020, covering approximately 8,076 workers — marking a sharp increase from January and up 53% versus February 2019. The average filing covered 147 workers, with 21 closures among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

The Accommodation & Food sector accounted for the largest share of job cuts with 2,390 workers across 6 notices. At the same time, Transportation reported 1,301 workers.

Geographic Hotspots

San Francisco bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 35% of all affected workers with 2,795 workers across 7 notices.

Layoff Type Analysis

Closures accounted for 42% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.

Largest Layoffs

Leading the list was Hilton Hotel Employer LLC, DBA Hilton San Francisco Union Square at its San Francisco facility, reporting 923 affected workers. Macy's followed with 831 workers.

Trend & Outlook

This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.

The filings reflect mounting pressure on the California labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Accommodation & Food 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.