Employers in California submitted 272 WARN Act notices in May 2023, putting at risk an estimated 19,223 workers — up substantially from April and up 269% versus May 2022. The average filing covered 71 workers, with 66 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 28 | 1,763 |
| Education | 8 | 861 |
| Information & Technology | 9 | 525 |
| Transportation | 9 | 285 |
| Professional Services | 3 | 263 |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 250 |
| Retail | 3 | 212 |
| Accommodation & Food | 2 | 118 |
The Healthcare sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 1,763 workers across 28 notices. Separately, Education reported 861 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 31 | 2,846 |
| Los Angeles | 42 | 2,648 |
| Santa Clara | 32 | 2,431 |
| San Diego | 52 | 2,419 |
| Kern | 2 | 2,030 |
San Francisco felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 15% of all affected workers with 2,846 workers across 31 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Blvd Bakersfield | 1 | 1,015 |
| Mountain View | 4 | 981 |
| San Francisco | 5 | 839 |
| San Diego | 4 | 452 |
| Unit 109 Reseda | 1 | 434 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 204 | 13,680 |
| Closure | 66 | 4,222 |
| Temporary Layoff | 2 | 1,321 |
Closures accounted for 22% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream | 1,015 | Temporary Layoff | 2023-05-03 | |
| Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream | Blvd Bakersfield | 1,015 | Layoff | 2023-05-25 |
| Cushman & Wakefield U.S. Inc. - Marine Way | Mountain View | 594 | Layoff | 2023-05-11 |
| Gap, Inc | San Francisco | 569 | Layoff | 2023-05-24 |
| Healthcare Staffing Professionals, Inc | 434 | Layoff | 2023-05-01 | |
| Healthcare Staffing Professionals, Inc | Unit 109 Reseda | 434 | Layoff | 2023-05-31 |
| NationalExpressdbaDurhamSchoolServices | 401 | Layoff | 2023-05-01 | |
| National Express dba Durham School Services | 1355 S. E Street San Bernardino | 401 | Layoff | 2023-05-18 |
| Lyft, Inc | #400 San Francisco | 383 | Layoff | 2023-05-10 |
| Nordstrom | 333 | Closure | 2023-05-02 | |
| Nordstrom | San Francisco Centre San Francisco | 333 | Closure | 2023-05-18 |
| Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream | 306 | Temporary Layoff | 2023-05-03 | |
| Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream | 970 E. Continental Tulare | 306 | Layoff | 2023-05-23 |
| Meta Platforms, Inc | 304 | Layoff | 2023-05-29 | |
| BAESystemsInc.,SanDiegoShipRepair | 275 | Layoff | 2023-05-12 |
Topping the list was Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream at its California facility, reporting 1,015 affected workers. Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream followed with 1,015 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
These figures highlight mounting pressure on the California labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Healthcare 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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