Employers in California reported 123 WARN Act notices in December 2014, displacing an estimated 9,974 workers — signaling an acceleration from November and up 50% versus December 2013. The average filing covered 81 workers, with 42 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 9 | 570 |
| Accommodation & Food | 2 | 186 |
| Transportation | 2 | 186 |
| Professional Services | 2 | 182 |
| Information & Technology | 2 | 128 |
| Finance & Insurance | 3 | 72 |
The Healthcare sector topped the list of affected industries with 570 workers across 9 notices. Notably, Accommodation & Food reported 186 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 30 | 1,592 |
| Kern | 2 | 1,400 |
| Santa Clara | 22 | 1,129 |
| San Diego | 7 | 948 |
| San Bernardino | 8 | 844 |
Los Angeles bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 16% of all affected workers with 1,592 workers across 30 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield | 2 | 1,400 |
| Ontario | 2 | 624 |
| San Diego | 4 | 572 |
| Lodi | 1 | 410 |
| Santa Monica | 6 | 376 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 78 | 5,326 |
| Closure | 41 | 4,295 |
| Temporary Layoff | 2 | 256 |
| Temporary Closure | 1 | 93 |
Closures accounted for 44% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ensign United States Drilling | Bakersfield | 700 | Layoff | 2014-12-18 |
| Ensign United States Drilling | Bakersfield | 700 | Layoff | 2014-12-22 |
| General Mills Operations, LLC | Lodi | 410 | Closure | 2014-12-09 |
| Intellisource, LLC | Ontario | 312 | Closure | 2014-12-05 |
| Intellisource, LLC | Ontario | 312 | Closure | 2014-12-17 |
| Bae Systems | San Francisco | 192 | Temporary Layoff | 2014-12-23 |
| Qualcomm Incorporated | San Diego | 178 | Layoff | 2014-12-10 |
| Qualcomm Incorporated | San Diego | 178 | Layoff | 2014-12-19 |
| Aramark | Mountain View | 175 | Closure | 2014-12-15 |
| Aramark | Mountain View | 175 | Closure | 2014-12-23 |
| Intermune, Inc | Brisbane | 170 | Layoff | 2014-12-10 |
| Intermune, Inc | Brisbane | 170 | Layoff | 2014-12-19 |
| Hcc Investors, LLC | Rancho Santa Fe | 156 | Closure | 2014-12-19 |
| Aramark | Wheatland | 152 | Closure | 2014-12-15 |
| Aramark | Wheatland | 152 | Closure | 2014-12-22 |
The most significant filing came from Ensign United States Drilling at its Bakersfield facility, reporting 700 affected workers. Ensign United States Drilling followed with 700 workers.
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 Healthcare 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.
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