California Layoffs — August 2011
Employers in California filed 65 WARN Act notices in August 2011, impacting roughly 5,134 workers — representing a notable rise over July and up 65% versus August 2010. The average filing covered 79 workers, with 0 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 41 | 3,528 |
| Retail | 4 | 373 |
| Healthcare | 6 | 354 |
| Information & Technology | 5 | 323 |
| Professional Services | 2 | 176 |
| Transportation | 1 | 142 |
| Wholesale Trade | 1 | 68 |
| Real Estate | 1 | 52 |
The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 3,528 workers across 41 notices. In a parallel development, Retail reported 373 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara | 6 | 1,310 |
| Los Angeles | 15 | 944 |
| Alameda | 5 | 732 |
| Orange | 16 | 549 |
| Riverside | 7 | 490 |
Santa Clara was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 26% of all affected workers with 1,310 workers across 6 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose | 1 | 989 |
| Fremont | 5 | 732 |
| San Francisco | 3 | 282 |
| Long Beach | 4 | 229 |
| Fontana | 1 | 180 |
Layoff Type Analysis
Layoff type classification was not available for filings in California this month.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco Systems | San Jose | 989 | ||
| Solyndra | Fremont | 229 | ||
| Solyndra | Fremont | 228 | ||
| Ameron International Wind Towers Division | Fontana | 180 | ||
| Borders Group | Mira Loma | 165 | ||
| Solyndra | Fremont | 163 | ||
| Tectrans | San Francisco | 142 | ||
| Solyndra | Milpitas | 141 | ||
| Yuba Nursing Center | Yuba City | 138 | ||
| Medtronic | Northridge | 137 | ||
| Millbrae Serra Convalescent Hospital | Millbrae | 136 | ||
| Ball | Torrance | 131 | ||
| Bae Systems-San Francisco Ship Repair | San Francisco | 128 | ||
| Nibco Inc. (Tolco) | Corona | 117 | ||
| The Boing | Long Beach | 112 |
The single largest action involved Cisco Systems at its San Jose facility, reporting 989 affected workers. Solyndra followed with 229 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
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.