California Layoffs — April 2023

Employers in California submitted 182 WARN Act notices in April 2023, putting at risk an estimated 11,665 workers — up substantially from March and up 243% versus April 2022. The average filing covered 64 workers, with 30 closures among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

The Manufacturing sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 4,270 workers across 76 notices. Separately, Retail reported 2,509 workers.

Geographic Hotspots

Los Angeles was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 23% of all affected workers with 2,640 workers across 27 notices.

Layoff Type Analysis

Closures accounted for 19% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.

Largest Layoffs

Topping the list was Walmart at its Chino facility, reporting 953 affected workers. Virgin Orbit followed with 603 workers.

Trend & Outlook

After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.

These figures highlight 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.