Employers in California reported 88 WARN Act notices in August 2018, displacing an estimated 6,280 workers — signaling an acceleration from July and up 67% versus August 2017. The average filing covered 71 workers, with 28 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1 | 1,493 |
| Transportation | 6 | 232 |
| Information & Technology | 3 | 225 |
| Accommodation & Food | 2 | 186 |
| Retail | 2 | 108 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 59 |
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 58 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 3 | 46 |
The Manufacturing sector topped the list of affected industries with 1,493 workers across 1 notice. Notably, Transportation reported 232 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego | 7 | 1,842 |
| Los Angeles | 13 | 731 |
| Orange | 7 | 596 |
| Santa Clara | 5 | 566 |
| Stanislaus | 5 | 459 |
San Diego absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 29% of all affected workers with 1,842 workers across 7 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego | 2 | 1,551 |
| San Jose | 3 | 489 |
| San Francisco | 3 | 365 |
| Tracy | 2 | 323 |
| Modesto | 4 | 302 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 28 | 4,072 |
| Closure | 28 | 2,208 |
Closures accounted for 35% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Steel and Shipbuilding Company | San Diego | 1,493 | Layoff | 2018-08-03 |
| Orchard Supply Company, LLC | San Jose | 406 | Closure | 2018-08-23 |
| Orchard Supply Company, LLC | Tracy | 249 | Closure | 2018-08-22 |
| Global Cash Card, Inc | Irvine | 228 | Layoff | 2018-08-20 |
| Genentech, Inc. and Genentech USA, Inc | South San | 223 | Layoff | 2018-08-09 |
| DJO Global | Vista | 187 | Layoff | 2018-08-03 |
| InterContinental Hotels Group Resources, Inc | San Francisco | 186 | Layoff | 2018-08-31 |
| Menzies Aviation | San Francisco | 172 | Layoff | 2018-08-28 |
| Trinity Christian Center of Santa Ana, Inc | Tustin | 166 | Layoff | 2018-08-02 |
| Silgan Containers | Riverbank | 157 | Layoff | 2018-08-28 |
| Oxnard Lemon Company | Oxnard | 155 | Layoff | 2018-08-07 |
| Orchard Supply Company, LLC | Los Angeles | 137 | Closure | 2018-08-23 |
| Orchard Supply Company, LLC | Pasadena | 125 | Closure | 2018-08-23 |
| Kmart Corporation | Los Angeles | 120 | Closure | 2018-08-29 |
| Target | San Bernardino | 108 | Closure | 2018-08-21 |
The most significant filing came from National Steel and Shipbuilding Company at its San Diego facility, reporting 1,493 affected workers. Orchard Supply Company, LLC followed with 406 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The numbers illustrate mounting pressure on the California labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Manufacturing 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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