California Layoffs — December 2016
Employers in California filed 36 WARN Act notices in December 2016, impacting roughly 2,302 workers — representing a pullback from November and down 74% versus December 2015. The average filing covered 64 workers, with 9 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 414 |
| Manufacturing | 6 | 373 |
| Retail | 2 | 209 |
| Utilities | 4 | 195 |
| Transportation | 3 | 194 |
| Government | 1 | 116 |
| Accommodation & Food | 1 | 102 |
| Agriculture | 1 | 82 |
The Finance & Insurance sector led the way in workforce reductions with 414 workers across 2 notices. In a parallel development, Manufacturing reported 373 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 11 | 722 |
| Santa Clara | 7 | 503 |
| San Francisco | 3 | 306 |
| Alameda | 5 | 231 |
| Riverside | 2 | 191 |
Los Angeles absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 31% of all affected workers with 722 workers across 11 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 5 | 425 |
| Los Angeles | 2 | 333 |
| Mountain View | 3 | 213 |
| Cupertino | 1 | 208 |
| Mira Loma | 1 | 142 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 27 | 1,192 |
| Closure | 9 | 1,110 |
Closures accounted for 48% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transamerica Life Insurance | Los Angeles | 320 | Closure | |
| Target | Cupertino | 208 | Closure | |
| Pfizer | San Francisco | 200 | Layoff | |
| GBW Railcar Services | Mira Loma | 142 | Closure | |
| Encore Repair Services | Simi Valley | 116 | Closure | |
| Global Paratransit | Gardena | 105 | Layoff | |
| Kuleto's | San Francisco | 102 | Closure | |
| Beepi | Mountain View | 102 | Closure | |
| Prospect Mortgage | Sherman Oaks | 94 | Layoff | |
| Symantec | Mountain View | 84 | Layoff | |
| Bristol Farms | San Francisco | 82 | Closure | |
| OneRoof Energy | San Diego | 63 | Layoff | |
| Princess Cruise Lines | Santa Clarita | 61 | Layoff | |
| Sea World | San Diego | 60 | Layoff | |
| SunPower | Richmond | 59 | Layoff |
The single largest action involved Transamerica Life Insurance at its Los Angeles facility, reporting 320 affected workers. Target followed with 208 workers.
Trend & Outlook
The data underscores a easing in workforce disruptions across California, with filings falling below both recent and year-ago levels. The Finance & Insurance 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.