California Layoffs — October 2025
Employers in California reported 263 WARN Act notices in October 2025, displacing an estimated 14,531 workers — signaling an acceleration from September and up 42% versus October 2024. The average filing covered 55 workers, with 19 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | 43 | 1,966 |
| Manufacturing | 34 | 1,426 |
| Education | 7 | 1,422 |
| Accommodation & Food | 5 | 1,378 |
| Information & Technology | 10 | 1,272 |
| Professional Services | 9 | 785 |
| Healthcare | 29 | 524 |
| Real Estate | 4 | 170 |
The Retail sector topped the list of affected industries with 1,966 workers across 43 notices. Notably, Manufacturing reported 1,426 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 68 | 3,696 |
| Santa Clara | 60 | 2,355 |
| Orange | 22 | 1,260 |
| San Mateo | 18 | 1,106 |
| Sacramento | 9 | 1,091 |
Los Angeles felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 25% of all affected workers with 3,696 workers across 68 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Ojai | 1 | 773 |
| Los Angeles | 12 | 658 |
| Milpitas | 4 | 555 |
| Palo Alto | 7 | 510 |
| Sunnyvale | 13 | 486 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 96 | 4,768 |
| Closure | 19 | 2,080 |
Closures accounted for 14% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ojai Valley Inn | Ojai | 773 | Closure | |
| Educational Testing Service (ETS) | 757 | |||
| Jet Propulsion Laboratory (California Institute of Technology) | 543 | |||
| RGNext | Lompoc | 400 | Layoff | |
| Anthony International | Sylmar | 398 | ||
| Hilton San Diego Bayfront | San Diego | 394 | Layoff | |
| Leprino Foods | Lemoore | 268 | ||
| Meta Platforms, Inc. (1 Meta Way) | 261 | |||
| Meta | Menlo Park | 261 | Layoff | |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles | 259 | Layoff | |
| Broadcom | Palo Alto | 247 | Layoff | |
| Manna Beverages MBV-CA LLC - 1226 | 245 | |||
| Advanced Pressure Technology | Napa | 237 | ||
| Manna Beverages MBV-CA LLC 2286 | 237 | |||
| SEMSA/Riggs Ambulance Service | 181 |
The most significant filing came from Ojai Valley Inn at its Ojai facility, reporting 773 affected workers. Educational Testing Service (ETS) followed with 757 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The numbers illustrate mounting pressure on the California labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Retail 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.