California Layoffs — September 2024
Employers in California filed 90 WARN Act notices in September 2024, impacting roughly 9,192 workers — representing a notable rise over August and up 13% versus September 2023. The average filing covered 102 workers, with 28 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 29 | 2,014 |
| Information & Technology | 17 | 1,967 |
| Wholesale Trade | 5 | 1,709 |
| Retail | 6 | 1,313 |
| Transportation | 7 | 749 |
| Healthcare | 10 | 536 |
| Education | 1 | 368 |
| Professional Services | 8 | 267 |
The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 2,014 workers across 29 notices. In a parallel development, Information & Technology reported 1,967 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara | 10 | 1,684 |
| Kern | 2 | 913 |
| Los Angeles | 13 | 884 |
| San Bernardino | 10 | 742 |
| San Diego | 15 | 641 |
Santa Clara bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 18% of all affected workers with 1,684 workers across 10 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose | 3 | 842 |
| Bakersfield | 1 | 733 |
| Watsonville | 1 | 605 |
| Tasman Drive San Jose | 1 | 563 |
| Los Angeles | 7 | 449 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 59 | 5,779 |
| Closure | 26 | 2,752 |
| Temporary Layoff | 3 | 446 |
| Temporary Closure | 2 | 215 |
Closures accounted for 32% 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 | 733 | Layoff | |
| Monterey Mushrooms | Watsonville | 605 | Closure | |
| Cisco | San Jose | 563 | Layoff | |
| Cisco Systems | Tasman Drive San Jose | 563 | Layoff | |
| Foundation for California Community Colleges | Sacramento | 368 | Layoff | |
| Big Lots | Apple Valley | 349 | Closure | |
| Commerce Distribution Center | Commerce | 294 | Layoff | |
| Save Mart Supermarkets LLC DBA Yosemite Wholesale Company | Vassar Avenue Merced | 254 | Closure | |
| Yosemite Wholesale Company | Modesto | 254 | Closure | |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospitals | San Leandro | 249 | Closure | |
| Qualcomm | Santa Clara | 226 | Layoff | |
| Houweling Camarillo | Camarillo | 203 | Closure | |
| Houweling Camarillo | Camarillo | 203 | Closure | |
| Edwards Lifesciences | One Edwards Way Irvine | 192 | Layoff | |
| Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream | Tulare | 188 | Layoff |
The single largest action involved Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream at its Bakersfield facility, reporting 733 affected workers. Monterey Mushrooms followed with 605 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The data underscores 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.