California Layoffs — May 2023
Employers in California reported 180 WARN Act notices in May 2023, displacing an estimated 10,528 workers — signaling a deceleration from April and up 194% versus May 2022. The average filing covered 58 workers, with 50 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Information & Technology | 66 | 2,836 |
| Manufacturing | 24 | 2,346 |
| Healthcare | 28 | 1,536 |
| Real Estate | 11 | 782 |
| Transportation | 16 | 718 |
| Retail | 9 | 671 |
| Professional Services | 8 | 620 |
| Education | 8 | 609 |
The Information & Technology sector topped the list of affected industries with 2,836 workers across 66 notices. Notably, Manufacturing reported 2,346 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 27 | 1,744 |
| Santa Clara | 19 | 1,580 |
| San Diego | 37 | 1,384 |
| San Mateo | 27 | 1,209 |
| Kern | 1 | 1,015 |
Los Angeles felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 17% of all affected workers with 1,744 workers across 27 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Menlo Park | 24 | 1,107 |
| Bakersfield | 1 | 1,015 |
| Mountain View | 3 | 979 |
| San Diego | 15 | 687 |
| San Bernardino | 5 | 548 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 130 | 7,768 |
| Closure | 50 | 2,760 |
Closures accounted for 26% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream | Bakersfield | 1,015 | Layoff | |
| Cushman & Wakefield U.S. Inc. - Marine Way | Mountain View | 594 | Layoff | |
| Healthcare Staffing Professionals | Reseda | 434 | Layoff | |
| National Express DBA Durham School Services | San Bernardino | 401 | Layoff | |
| Nordstrom | San Francisco Centre San Francisco | 333 | Closure | |
| Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream | E. Continental Tulare | 306 | Layoff | |
| BAE Systems Inc. , San Diego Ship Repair | San Diego | 275 | Layoff | |
| Nuro | Mountain View | 252 | Layoff | |
| TeamOne | Perris | 174 | Closure | |
| Sacramento Self Help Housing | Sacramento | 168 | Closure | |
| Swift Beef | March Air Reserve Base | 161 | Layoff | |
| Unical Aviation | City of Industry | 155 | Closure | |
| Cal Poly | San Luis Obispo | 149 | Layoff | |
| Accenture | Fremont | 148 | Layoff | |
| Jenny Craig (JC) USA | Carlsbad | 146 | Closure |
The most significant filing came from Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream at its Bakersfield facility, reporting 1,015 affected workers. Cushman & Wakefield U.S. Inc. - Marine Way followed with 594 workers.
Trend & Outlook
The numbers illustrate a mixed picture for California's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. The Information & Technology 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.