California Layoffs 2026: WARN Numbers Explained (November Update)

California remains, by a wide margin, the state with the most reported layoff plans in the United States. In the 90-day window tracked by Layoff Atlas, California accounts for 21,514 reported workers across its WARN notices — about a third of the national total of 65,089 workers from 705 notices. No other state is close. Washington, in second place, reports 17,411 workers, leaving a gap of 4,103 between the top two states. Together, California and Washington hold 38,925 reported workers, just under 60 percent of the national total.

The newest official California notice in the registry is dated November 4, 2026. That date matters because it shows the pipeline is current: California's WARN notices arrive through the state Employment Development Department, and the registry's California page was last source-checked on November 7, 2026.

California in November

The latest batch of California filings, noticed between October 29 and November 4, is dominated by one date: December 31, 2026. Several large employers scheduled their workforce changes for the last day of the year, a pattern that shows up every autumn as companies align layoffs with calendar boundaries.

The single largest filing in the batch is AEG Management Oakland, with 1,605 workers, noticed October 29 and effective December 31. Behind it sits a cluster from Davey Tree Surgery: ten separate filings on October 29, covering 368 workers across ten California locations, all effective December 31. Community Tree Service filed for 163 workers in Pajaro, noticed October 30 and effective January 2, 2027. Danone USA closed a Chatsworth facility for 135 workers, noticed October 30 and effective December 29. iLEAD Lancaster filed for 119 workers, noticed October 30 and effective December 31.

Smaller filings in the same batch fill out the picture. Amazon filed for 94 workers in La Puente, noticed November 2 and effective January 31, 2027 — a 90-day notice period, the longest in the batch. Chick-fil-A's operator Worthy Integrated Holdings filed an 87-worker closure in Oxnard, effective December 31. Roundabout Entertainment filed an 81-worker closure in Burbank, effective December 29. The Vons Companies filed a 78-worker closure in Anaheim Hills, effective January 2, 2027. Wedgewood Village Pharmacy filed for 71 workers in San Jose, effective January 4, 2027. Renewable Solar filed for 56 workers in Hanford, effective December 30. ServiceNow filed two notices totalling 62 workers, in Santa Clara and San Diego, both effective January 4, 2027. AES filed 41 workers across Long Beach and Huntington Beach, effective January 6, 2027.

The year so far

For 2026 so far, California's imported archive holds 1,254 notices reporting 68,531 workers. That is already a substantial year, but it sits below 2025's full-year total of 1,591 notices and 94,948 workers, and below 2024's 1,595 notices and 86,470 workers. With about eight weeks left in the year, 2026 is tracking to finish as California's quietest year since 2022, when the archive recorded 874 notices and 57,251 workers.

Over the last 365 days, the archive contains 1,336 eligible official California filings reporting 73,045 workers, with no worker counts unavailable. In total, California's imported archive holds 17,682 non-cancelled notices reporting 1,460,358 workers, with 169 notices carrying future effective dates.

California vs the rest of the country

California's lead is not just large — it is widening. On November 6, the gap between California and Washington stood at 3,401 workers. Two days later it is 4,103. California's 21,514 workers in the 90-day window compare with 3,548 in Illinois, 2,750 in Texas and 2,546 in Virginia, the next three states after Washington. California alone reports more workers than Illinois, Texas and Virginia combined.

That concentration is worth reading carefully. California publishes WARN notices promptly and completely through a single state source, so its totals are more complete than those of states with thin or missing public reporting. A low total elsewhere may mean weaker reporting rather than fewer layoffs. Even so, the scale of California's filings — 1,605 workers at one Oakland employer, 368 across one tree-service company — is real, and it drives the national picture.

Nationally, the six weeks ahead hold 30,988 reported workers, with the week of November 15 the heaviest at 7,887. California's December 31 cluster sits just outside that window — a reminder that the year-end dates will shape the January numbers too.

How to read California's numbers

Two things make California's data unusually solid. First, almost all of it is official: 17,623 of the 17,682 notices in the archive are direct government records, with only 57 attributed secondary reports. Second, only two notices in the archive have unavailable worker counts, so the totals are not dragged down by missing figures the way some other states' are.

But the caveats still apply. These are reported plans, not confirmed job losses: plans change, dates move, and some filings are withdrawn. The registry tracks notices, not companies, so filings from the same employer should not be added into a company-wide total. And WARN coverage is not a census of layoffs — it only captures filings that meet the law's thresholds and reach the public record.

For workers named in a California filing, the practical facts are the notice date, the effective date, and the gap between them. Most of the recent batch gave roughly 60 days — the federal standard — with Amazon's 90 days at the generous end.

Data source: Layoff Atlas