Employers in California reported 116 WARN Act notices in February 2021, displacing an estimated 10,002 workers — signaling a deceleration from January and up 66% versus February 2020. The average filing covered 86 workers, with 24 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 4 | 3,856 |
| Information & Technology | 6 | 437 |
| Accommodation & Food | 11 | 413 |
| Manufacturing | 6 | 203 |
| Agriculture | 4 | 90 |
| Education | 3 | 85 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 1 | 76 |
| Healthcare | 3 | 2 |
The Transportation sector topped the list of affected industries with 3,856 workers across 4 notices. Notably, Information & Technology reported 437 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 13 | 3,424 |
| Los Angeles | 27 | 2,235 |
| Ventura | 4 | 1,083 |
| Orange | 3 | 514 |
| Riverside | 6 | 449 |
San Francisco bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 34% of all affected workers with 3,424 workers across 13 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 10 | 3,424 |
| Los Angeles | 7 | 1,167 |
| Newbury Park | 1 | 531 |
| Thousand Oaks | 1 | 531 |
| Long Beach | 5 | 467 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 54 | 8,418 |
| Closure | 24 | 1,584 |
Closures accounted for 16% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines - SFO | San Francisco | 3,139 | Layoff | 2021-02-23 |
| United Airlines - LAX | Los Angeles | 662 | Layoff | 2021-02-23 |
| Amgen Inc | Newbury Park | 531 | Layoff | 2021-02-10 |
| Amgen | Thousand Oaks | 531 | Layoff | 2021-02-23 |
| Panasonic Avionics | Lake Forest | 425 | Layoff | 2021-02-23 |
| Quetico LLC | Chino | 304 | Closure | 2021-02-10 |
| Flying Food Group | South San Francisco | 226 | Layoff | 2021-02-25 |
| Sensata Technologies | Carpinteria | 207 | Closure | 2021-02-25 |
| Marriott Hotel Services dba JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa | Palm Desert | 203 | Layoff | 2021-02-25 |
| Gilead Sciences, Inc | Foster City | 179 | Layoff | 2021-02-24 |
| Rapid Displays | Union City | 165 | Layoff | 2021-02-25 |
| Food 4 Less | Long Beach | 156 | Layoff | 2021-02-11 |
| Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc | Los Angeles | 155 | Layoff | 2021-02-26 |
| West Coast Terminal & Stevedore, Inc | Long Beach | 140 | Closure | 2021-02-03 |
| Vistana California Management Inc | Palm Desert | 123 | Layoff | 2021-02-24 |
The most significant filing came from United Airlines - SFO at its San Francisco facility, reporting 3,139 affected workers. United Airlines - LAX followed with 662 workers.
The numbers illustrate a mixed picture for California's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. 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.
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