California Layoffs — January 2024

Employers in California submitted 307 WARN Act notices in January 2024, putting at risk an estimated 16,188 workers — up substantially from December and up 14% versus January 2023. The average filing covered 53 workers, with 84 closures among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

The Manufacturing sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 5,010 workers across 42 notices. Separately, Information & Technology reported 2,599 workers.

Geographic Hotspots

Los Angeles saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 20% of all affected workers with 3,264 workers across 60 notices.

Layoff Type Analysis

Closures accounted for 30% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.

Largest Layoffs

Topping the list was Broadcom at its Palo Alto facility, reporting 1,267 affected workers. Tower Semiconductor followed with 699 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.