Employers in California posted 134 WARN Act notices in March 2017, affecting an estimated 9,220 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to February and up 18% versus March 2016. The average filing covered 69 workers, with 79 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Information & Technology | 9 | 1,543 |
| Retail | 43 | 1,105 |
| Healthcare | 4 | 346 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 2 | 170 |
| Finance & Insurance | 6 | 124 |
| Education | 2 | 92 |
| Transportation | 1 | 49 |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 30 |
The Information & Technology sector saw the heaviest impact with 1,543 workers across 9 notices. On a related front, Retail reported 1,105 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Orange | 17 | 1,700 |
| San Bernardino | 11 | 1,616 |
| Los Angeles | 28 | 1,542 |
| Santa Clara | 18 | 956 |
| Alameda | 5 | 676 |
Orange absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 18% of all affected workers with 1,700 workers across 17 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Irwin | 3 | 984 |
| Fountain Valley | 2 | 930 |
| Los Angeles | 6 | 496 |
| San Jose | 8 | 481 |
| Stockton | 2 | 480 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 78 | 4,682 |
| Layoff | 55 | 4,302 |
| Temporary Closure | 1 | 236 |
The high proportion of closures (53% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in California's labor market.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paramedics Plus, LLC | San Leandro | 465 | Closure | 2017-03-03 |
| North Coast Rehab, Inc | Fountain Valley | 465 | Closure | 2017-03-14 |
| North Coast Rehab, Inc | Fountain Valley | 465 | Closure | 2017-03-15 |
| Northrop Grumman Technology | Fort Irwin | 462 | Layoff | 2017-03-15 |
| Northrop Grumman Technology | Fort Irwin | 462 | Layoff | 2017-03-16 |
| Quantum Health, Inc. d/b/a Promise | San Diego | 257 | Closure | 2017-03-01 |
| Diamond Foods, LLC | Stockton | 240 | Layoff | 2017-03-07 |
| Diamond Foods, LLC | Stockton | 240 | Layoff | 2017-03-16 |
| Western Tube and Conduit | Carson | 236 | Temporary Closure | 2017-03-22 |
| The Nature's Bounty Co., Inc | Garden Grove | 213 | Closure | 2017-03-02 |
| Meadowbrook Meat Company, Inc | Ontario | 171 | Closure | 2017-03-16 |
| Meadowbrook Meat Company, Inc | Ontario | 171 | Closure | 2017-03-17 |
| bebe stores, Inc | Los Angeles | 160 | Closure | 2017-03-24 |
| bebe stores, Inc | Los Angeles | 160 | Closure | 2017-03-27 |
| Beachbody, LLC | Santa Monica | 142 | Layoff | 2017-03-06 |
The largest notice was filed by Paramedics Plus, LLC at its San Leandro facility, reporting 465 affected workers. North Coast Rehab, Inc followed with 465 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the California labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Information & Technology 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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