California Layoffs — December 2020
Employers in California posted 239 WARN Act notices in December 2020, affecting an estimated 17,410 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to November and up 700% versus December 2019. The average filing covered 73 workers, with 81 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation & Food | 116 | 9,657 |
| Transportation | 13 | 2,616 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 17 | 1,748 |
| Manufacturing | 15 | 775 |
| Information & Technology | 9 | 499 |
| Real Estate | 2 | 484 |
| Agriculture | 3 | 316 |
| Government | 4 | 290 |
The Accommodation & Food sector saw the heaviest impact with 9,657 workers across 116 notices. On a related front, Transportation reported 2,616 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego | 35 | 4,150 |
| Los Angeles | 43 | 2,619 |
| Riverside | 27 | 1,425 |
| Santa Clara | 18 | 1,400 |
| Orange | 24 | 1,096 |
San Diego felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 24% of all affected workers with 4,150 workers across 35 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego | 22 | 2,800 |
| Los Angeles | 8 | 1,120 |
| San Jose | 8 | 840 |
| Colma | 2 | 709 |
| San Francisco | 9 | 691 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 154 | 13,928 |
| Closure | 81 | 3,202 |
Closures accounted for 18% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SeaWorld | San Diego | 827 | Layoff | |
| Cohn Restaurant Group | San Diego | 758 | Layoff | |
| Southwest Airlines - Los Angeles International Airport | Los Angeles | 632 | Layoff | |
| Southwest Airlines - Metropolitan Oakland International Airport | Oakland | 573 | Layoff | |
| Lucky Chances Casino | Colma | 489 | Layoff | |
| Ocean's 11 Casino | Oceanside | 360 | Closure | |
| Southwest Airlines - San Diego International Airport | San Diego | 358 | Layoff | |
| II Fornaio America | Corte Madera | 347 | Layoff | |
| Southwest Airlines - Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport | San Jose | 285 | Layoff | |
| Alisal Properties | Solvang | 252 | Closure | |
| Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort | Solvang | 252 | Layoff | |
| Stones South Bay Corp. DBA Seven Mile Casino | Chula Vista | 250 | Layoff | |
| LDD Long Point Management | Rancho Palos Verdes | 232 | Layoff | |
| Lucky Business Services, Inc. - Lucky Chances Casino | Colma | 220 | Layoff | |
| Crescent Hotels & Resort, LLC - Four Points by Sheraton LAX | Los Angeles | 214 | Closure |
The largest notice was filed by SeaWorld at its San Diego facility, reporting 827 affected workers. Cohn Restaurant Group followed with 758 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The trends suggest 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.