California Layoffs — August 2020

Employers in California submitted 189 WARN Act notices in August 2020, putting at risk an estimated 14,923 workers — down from July and up 325% versus August 2019. The average filing covered 79 workers, with 29 closures among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

The Accommodation & Food sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 3,938 workers across 47 notices. Separately, Transportation reported 2,276 workers.

Geographic Hotspots

Los Angeles saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 27% of all affected workers with 4,024 workers across 39 notices.

Layoff Type Analysis

Closures accounted for 14% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.

Largest Layoffs

Topping the list was Marathon Petroleum at its Martinez facility, reporting 702 affected workers. Alaska Airlines, Inc. - Los Angeles International Airport followed with 630 workers.

Trend & Outlook

This is the third consecutive month of declining layoff activity.

These figures highlight a mixed picture for California's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. 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.