Employers in California reported 116 WARN Act notices in February 2015, displacing an estimated 12,329 workers — signaling an acceleration from January and up 340% versus February 2014. The average filing covered 106 workers, with 37 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 6 | 1,555 |
| Agriculture | 2 | 542 |
| Information & Technology | 4 | 476 |
| Manufacturing | 4 | 436 |
| Transportation | 3 | 281 |
| Mining & Energy | 2 | 180 |
| Finance & Insurance | 3 | 160 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 2 | 138 |
The Healthcare sector topped the list of affected industries with 1,555 workers across 6 notices. Notably, Agriculture reported 542 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 43 | 3,346 |
| Contra Costa | 5 | 2,232 |
| San Diego | 14 | 1,395 |
| San Francisco | 9 | 873 |
| San Mateo | 2 | 806 |
Los Angeles bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 27% of all affected workers with 3,346 workers across 43 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Pablo | 2 | 1,418 |
| San Diego | 11 | 1,037 |
| San Francisco | 9 | 873 |
| Redwood City | 2 | 806 |
| Torrance | 4 | 716 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 78 | 6,892 |
| Closure | 35 | 4,503 |
| Temporary Closure | 2 | 925 |
| Temporary Layoff | 1 | 9 |
Closures accounted for 44% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctors Medical Center | San Pablo | 709 | Layoff | 2015-02-13 |
| Doctors Medical Center | San Pablo | 709 | Layoff | 2015-02-23 |
| USS-POSCO Industries | Pittsburg | 666 | Temporary Closure | 2015-02-23 |
| Northrop Grumman Technical | Fort Irwin | 443 | Layoff | 2015-02-05 |
| DreamWorks Animation | Redwood City | 403 | Closure | 2015-02-16 |
| DreamWorks Animation | Redwood City | 403 | Closure | 2015-02-23 |
| Farmer Brothers | Torrance | 271 | Closure | 2015-02-05 |
| Farmer Brothers | Torrance | 271 | Closure | 2015-02-13 |
| Marriott International Inc | Truckee | 259 | Temporary Closure | 2015-02-13 |
| Marriott International Inc | Truckee | 259 | Closure | 2015-02-17 |
| DialAmerica | San Diego | 227 | Closure | 2015-02-17 |
| DialAmerica | San Diego | 227 | Closure | 2015-02-27 |
| Safeway Inc | West Sacramento | 213 | Closure | 2015-02-21 |
| Safeway Inc | West Sacramento | 213 | Closure | 2015-02-23 |
| Mandarin Oriental San Francisco Inc | San Francisco | 193 | Layoff | 2015-02-17 |
The most significant filing came from Doctors Medical Center at its San Pablo facility, reporting 709 affected workers. Doctors Medical Center followed with 709 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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