California Layoffs — April 2021
Employers in California posted 48 WARN Act notices in April 2021, affecting an estimated 3,405 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to March and down 98% versus April 2020. The average filing covered 71 workers, with 27 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 10 | 784 |
| Information & Technology | 8 | 484 |
| Accommodation & Food | 4 | 447 |
| Healthcare | 5 | 422 |
| Retail | 5 | 370 |
| Transportation | 7 | 351 |
| Education | 1 | 177 |
| Wholesale Trade | 1 | 108 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 784 workers across 10 notices. On a related front, Information & Technology reported 484 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 15 | 1,154 |
| San Mateo | 4 | 471 |
| Santa Clara | 3 | 265 |
| Ventura | 4 | 251 |
| San Bernardino | 3 | 223 |
Los Angeles was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 34% of all affected workers with 1,154 workers across 15 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| South San Francisco | 3 | 308 |
| Los Angeles | 3 | 292 |
| Oxnard | 2 | 210 |
| Loma Linda | 1 | 177 |
| Santa Rosa | 1 | 168 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 27 | 1,905 |
| Layoff | 21 | 1,500 |
The high proportion of closures (56% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in California's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off the Grid Services, LLC - The Whole Cart | South San Francisco | 251 | Closure | |
| Las Islas Family Medical Group | Oxnard | 206 | Closure | |
| Ralphs | Los Angeles | 192 | Layoff | |
| Loma Linda University Medical Center | Loma Linda | 177 | Layoff | |
| Boston Scientific | Santa Rosa | 168 | Closure | |
| Lumentum Operations | San Jose | 165 | Layoff | |
| Dermira, Inc. - Eli Lilly and | Menlo Park | 163 | Closure | |
| Amazon.com Services Inc. - DLA4 facility | Chatsworth | 156 | Closure | |
| Elk Grove Restoration LLC-Chick-fil-A Elk Grove Marketplace | Elk Grove | 138 | Closure | |
| Centene Management Company, LLC and Health Net Federal Service | Woodland Hills | 122 | Layoff | |
| Couch Distributing | Watsonville | 108 | Layoff | |
| Food 4 Less #362 | Los Angeles | 97 | Layoff | |
| General Electric | San Ramon | 93 | Layoff | |
| California Community News | Irwindale | 91 | Closure | |
| MobiTV | Emeryville | 86 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Off the Grid Services, LLC - The Whole Cart at its South San Francisco facility, reporting 251 affected workers. Las Islas Family Medical Group followed with 206 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest a mixed picture for California's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. 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.