California Layoffs — January 2024
Employers in California reported 305 WARN Act notices in January 2024, displacing an estimated 16,059 workers — signaling an acceleration from December and up 13% versus January 2023. The average filing covered 53 workers, with 83 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 47 | 5,249 |
| Information & Technology | 65 | 4,055 |
| Retail | 23 | 1,371 |
| Transportation | 23 | 937 |
| Accommodation & Food | 53 | 903 |
| Professional Services | 11 | 638 |
| Healthcare | 22 | 575 |
| Construction | 12 | 439 |
The Manufacturing sector topped the list of affected industries with 5,249 workers across 47 notices. Notably, Information & Technology reported 4,055 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 59 | 3,137 |
| Santa Clara | 41 | 3,041 |
| Orange | 26 | 2,886 |
| San Diego | 28 | 1,593 |
| San Francisco | 20 | 1,244 |
Los Angeles saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 20% of all affected workers with 3,137 workers across 59 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 23 | 1,555 |
| San Francisco | 18 | 1,493 |
| Newport Beach | 2 | 1,398 |
| Palo Alto | 1 | 1,267 |
| San Diego | 16 | 726 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 218 | 10,354 |
| Closure | 83 | 4,808 |
| Temporary Layoff | 4 | 897 |
Closures accounted for 30% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broadcom | Palo Alto | 1,267 | Layoff | |
| Tower Semiconductor | Newport Beach | 699 | Temporary Layoff | |
| Tower Semiconductor | Newport Beach | 699 | Layoff | |
| Activision Blizzard | Los Angeles | 478 | Layoff | |
| eBay | San Francisco | 261 | Layoff | |
| eBay | San Jose | 261 | Layoff | |
| Invitae | San Francisco | 238 | Layoff | |
| Walmart | El Cajon | 232 | Closure | |
| Lonza Biologics | Hayward | 218 | Closure | |
| Twitch Interactive, Inc. SFO19 Facility | San Francisco | 218 | Layoff | |
| VF Santa Fe Springs Distribution Center | Santa Fe Springs | 207 | Closure | |
| Ace Hotel Group LLC at Ace Hotel Los Angeles | Broadway Los Angeles | 169 | Layoff | |
| Brandel Manorand Cypress Assisted | Cypress | 168 | Closure | |
| SPS Ventures | Santa Clarita | 162 | Layoff | |
| Discord | San Francisco | 160 | Layoff |
The most significant filing came from 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.
The numbers illustrate 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.