Employers in California filed 220 WARN Act notices in October 2023, impacting roughly 15,448 workers — representing a notable rise over September and up 40% versus October 2022. The average filing covered 70 workers, with 65 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 35 | 1,478 |
| Manufacturing | 3 | 471 |
| Finance & Insurance | 13 | 441 |
| Education | 1 | 259 |
| Utilities | 12 | 180 |
| Wholesale Trade | 6 | 153 |
| Information & Technology | 8 | 147 |
| Retail | 1 | 99 |
The Healthcare sector led the way in workforce reductions with 1,478 workers across 35 notices. In a parallel development, Manufacturing reported 471 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego | 22 | 3,234 |
| Los Angeles | 40 | 2,730 |
| Santa Clara | 25 | 1,932 |
| Kern | 7 | 1,086 |
| Alameda | 22 | 926 |
San Diego felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 21% of all affected workers with 3,234 workers across 22 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Blvd. Bakersfield | 1 | 1,015 |
| San Jose | 3 | 769 |
| 970 E. Continental Tulare | 2 | 612 |
| City of Industry | 2 | 420 |
| West Los Angeles | 1 | 405 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 136 | 9,408 |
| Closure | 64 | 4,546 |
| Temporary Closure | 1 | 870 |
| Temporary Layoff | 2 | 624 |
Closures accounted for 35% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualcomm Incorporated | 1,064 | Layoff | 2023-10-11 | |
| Dryer's Grand Ice Cream | Blvd. Bakersfield | 1,015 | Layoff | 2023-10-24 |
| Ojai Valley Inn | 870 | Temporary Closure | 2023-10-18 | |
| AlvaradoHospital,LLCdbaAlvaradoHospitalMedicalCenter | 808 | Layoff | 2023-10-11 | |
| Jabil Inc | San Jose | 550 | Closure | 2023-10-25 |
| Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc | 538 | Temporary Layoff | 2023-10-12 | |
| Federal Express Corporation | West Los Angeles | 405 | Closure | 2023-10-20 |
| ResMEd Inc | 364 | Layoff | 2023-10-25 | |
| FashionInstituteofDesign&MerchandisingFIDM | 322 | Layoff | 2023-10-26 | |
| Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream | 970 E. Continental Tulare | 306 | Layoff | 2023-10-24 |
| Dryer's Grand Ice Cream | 970 E. Continental Tulare | 306 | Layoff | 2023-10-24 |
| Sonoco | Exeter | 292 | Closure | 2023-10-02 |
| Shaw Industries Group Inc. Plant WG | Santa Fe Springs | 283 | Closure | 2023-10-20 |
| Foundation for California Community Colleges | Suite 4800 Sacramento | 259 | Layoff | 2023-10-04 |
| Matheson Flight Extenders, Inc | 2400 E. Artesia Blvd. Long Beach | 257 | Closure | 2023-10-18 |
The single largest action involved Qualcomm Incorporated at its California facility, reporting 1,064 affected workers. Dryer's Grand Ice Cream followed with 1,015 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The data underscores 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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