California Layoffs — September 2020

Employers in California submitted 182 WARN Act notices in September 2020, putting at risk an estimated 27,039 workers — up substantially from August and up 293% versus September 2019. The average filing covered 149 workers, with 23 closures among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

The Transportation sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 9,847 workers across 11 notices. Separately, Accommodation & Food reported 5,873 workers.

Geographic Hotspots

Los Angeles felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 32% of all affected workers with 8,618 workers across 57 notices.

Layoff Type Analysis

Closures accounted for 11% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.

Largest Layoffs

Topping the list was United Airlines, Inc. - San Francisco International Airport at its San Francisco facility, reporting 6,912 affected workers. United Airlines, Inc. - Los Angeles International Airport followed with 1,750 workers.

Trend & Outlook

After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.

These figures highlight mounting pressure on the California labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Transportation 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.