Employers in California submitted 98 WARN Act notices in May 2017, putting at risk an estimated 8,955 workers — up substantially from April and down 6% versus May 2016. The average filing covered 91 workers, with 38 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Information & Technology | 13 | 902 |
| Agriculture | 6 | 768 |
| Healthcare | 2 | 166 |
| Accommodation & Food | 1 | 155 |
| Manufacturing | 9 | 31 |
The Information & Technology sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 902 workers across 13 notices. Separately, Agriculture reported 768 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Orange | 27 | 1,857 |
| Contra Costa | 4 | 1,486 |
| Santa Clara | 16 | 1,431 |
| Kern | 9 | 1,209 |
| Los Angeles | 14 | 602 |
Orange felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 21% of all affected workers with 1,857 workers across 27 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburg | 2 | 1,270 |
| San Jose | 5 | 927 |
| Bakersfield | 4 | 774 |
| La Palma | 2 | 560 |
| Roseville | 2 | 460 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 57 | 4,411 |
| Closure | 37 | 3,661 |
| Temporary Layoff | 2 | 728 |
| Temporary Closure | 1 | 155 |
Closures accounted for 43% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USS-POSCO Industries | Pittsburg | 635 | Temporary Layoff | 2017-05-09 |
| USS-POSCO Industries | Pittsburg | 635 | Layoff | 2017-05-12 |
| Kellogg Company | La Palma | 280 | Closure | 2017-05-26 |
| Kellogg Company | La Palma | 280 | Closure | 2017-05-30 |
| Cisco Systems, Inc | San Jose | 250 | Layoff | 2017-05-17 |
| Cisco Systems, Inc | San Jose | 250 | Layoff | 2017-05-22 |
| Kellogg Company | Roseville | 230 | Closure | 2017-05-26 |
| Kellogg Company | Roseville | 230 | Closure | 2017-05-30 |
| Grimmway Farms | Bakersfield | 217 | Layoff | 2017-05-23 |
| Grimmway Farms | Bakersfield | 217 | Layoff | 2017-05-31 |
| Charter Communications | Palm Desert | 206 | Closure | 2017-05-23 |
| Charter Communications | Palm Desert | 206 | Closure | 2017-05-31 |
| Keurig Green Mountain, Inc | Castroville | 183 | Closure | 2017-05-04 |
| Keurig Green Mountain, Inc | Castroville | 183 | Closure | 2017-05-05 |
| LeTechnology,Inc.d.b.aLeEco | San Jose | 180 | Layoff | 2017-05-25 |
Topping the list was USS-POSCO Industries at its Pittsburg facility, reporting 635 affected workers. USS-POSCO Industries followed with 635 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
These figures highlight a mixed picture for California's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. 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.
Get weekly layoff reports in your inbox
Free weekly digest of WARN Act filings and analysis.
