Employers in California submitted 121 WARN Act notices in September 2022, putting at risk an estimated 11,456 workers — up substantially from August and up 74% versus September 2021. The average filing covered 95 workers, with 53 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 6 | 2,056 |
| Healthcare | 7 | 490 |
| Information & Technology | 3 | 395 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 2 | 186 |
| Manufacturing | 4 | 166 |
| Agriculture | 2 | 96 |
| Admin & Support Services | 1 | 66 |
| Mining & Energy | 1 | 28 |
The Transportation sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 2,056 workers across 6 notices. Separately, Healthcare reported 490 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 21 | 3,148 |
| Kern | 6 | 2,058 |
| San Diego | 15 | 1,290 |
| Orange | 6 | 1,006 |
| San Francisco | 14 | 905 |
Los Angeles was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 27% of all affected workers with 3,148 workers across 21 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Blvd. Bakersfield | 1 | 905 |
| Street Santa Monica | 1 | 401 |
| Temecula | 1 | 375 |
| 333 N. Euclid Way Anaheim | 1 | 353 |
| 970 E. Continental Ave. Tulare | 1 | 308 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 53 | 5,089 |
| Layoff | 64 | 5,072 |
| Temporary Layoff | 4 | 1,295 |
Closures accounted for 44% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithfield Distribution, LLC | 1,755 | Closure | 2022-09-22 | |
| Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc | 905 | Temporary Layoff | 2022-09-21 | |
| Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc | Blvd. Bakersfield | 905 | Layoff | 2022-09-27 |
| Snap, Inc. wholly owned subsidiary of PSA Risk Management Services Inc | Street Santa Monica | 401 | Layoff | 2022-09-01 |
| Infineon Technologies Americas Corp | Temecula | 375 | Closure | 2022-09-01 |
| NutritionCorp,Inc.dbaFresh‘NLean | 353 | Layoff | 2022-09-26 | |
| Nutrition Corp, Inc. dba Fresh ‘N Lean | 333 N. Euclid Way Anaheim | 353 | Layoff | 2022-09-26 |
| Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc | 308 | Temporary Layoff | 2022-09-20 | |
| Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc | 970 E. Continental Ave. Tulare | 308 | Layoff | 2022-09-27 |
| Oracle America, Inc | Redwood City | 201 | Layoff | 2022-09-30 |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb | 169 | Closure | 2022-09-07 | |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb | San Diego | 169 | Closure | 2022-09-13 |
| Hobie Cat Co | 137 | Layoff | 2022-09-07 | |
| Hobie Cat Co | Oceanside | 137 | Layoff | 2022-09-15 |
| Reali, Inc | 132 | Closure | 2022-09-03 |
Topping the list was Smithfield Distribution, LLC at its California facility, reporting 1,755 affected workers. Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc followed with 905 workers.
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.
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