California Layoffs — March 2022
Employers in California recorded 69 WARN Act notices in March 2022, covering approximately 4,839 workers — marking a sharp increase from February and up 63% versus March 2021. The average filing covered 70 workers, with 27 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 17 | 1,276 |
| Healthcare | 10 | 1,210 |
| Transportation | 7 | 535 |
| Finance & Insurance | 13 | 466 |
| Accommodation & Food | 4 | 315 |
| Wholesale Trade | 1 | 252 |
| Professional Services | 5 | 220 |
| Education | 2 | 167 |
The Manufacturing sector accounted for the largest share of job cuts with 1,276 workers across 17 notices. At the same time, Healthcare reported 1,210 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 13 | 919 |
| Santa Cruz | 2 | 741 |
| Orange | 5 | 589 |
| San Diego | 18 | 558 |
| San Francisco | 7 | 471 |
Los Angeles saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 19% of all affected workers with 919 workers across 13 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Watsonville | 2 | 741 |
| San Diego | 15 | 536 |
| San Francisco | 5 | 350 |
| Hughes Irvine | 1 | 305 |
| City of Industry | 1 | 252 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 27 | 2,962 |
| Layoff | 41 | 1,841 |
| Temporary Layoff | 1 | 36 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watsonville Community Hospital | Watsonville | 658 | Closure | |
| Teva Parental Medicines | Hughes Irvine | 305 | Closure | |
| CWD, LLC DBA Centric Parts | City of Industry | 252 | Layoff | |
| McWane, Inc. DBA Anaco | Corona | 198 | Closure | |
| Aramark Educational Services | Irvine | 140 | Layoff | |
| GXO Logistics Supply Chain | Central Avenue Fresno | 139 | Closure | |
| Keeco | Los Angeles | 134 | Closure | |
| Respironics California | San Diego | 130 | Closure | |
| Nestle USA | Modesto | 104 | Closure | |
| Interviewing Service of America | Lancaster | 100 | Closure | |
| Curology | San Diego | 91 | Closure | |
| Edelmann USA | Ontario | 90 | Closure | |
| Gama Berry Farms | Oxnard | 89 | Closure | |
| SunPower | Berkeley | 89 | Layoff | |
| Pacific Catch | Campbell | 86 | Closure |
Leading the list was Watsonville Community Hospital at its Watsonville facility, reporting 658 affected workers. Teva Parental Medicines followed with 305 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The filings reflect mounting pressure on the California labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. 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.