California-centric layoff plans have hit 158,700 workers so far this year, the second-largest employment cuts nationwide.
The job reports we usually follow are on hold during the federal government’s shutdown. So, my spreadsheet switched to a long-running tally of layoff news from major corporations, compiled by workplace consultants at Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Their latest report covered layoffs announcements by big companies through October in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This study tracks the layoff location based on either the corporate headquarters or the actual sites of the cuts, if mentioned in the layoff news release.
California-related layoff plans in the first 10 months of 2025 account for 14% of the 1.1 million layoffs announced across the U.S. Challenger expects this year to be the nation’s worst for this layoff yardstick since the Great Recession era, minus 2020’s pandemic-scarred economy.
Let’s put that 14% share in context. California is the nation’s largest economy. It has 18 million workers, more than any other state, and 11% of the nation’s 159 million jobs.
Additionally, Golden State businesses comprise 11% of the 500 companies that comprise the high-profile S&P 500 stock index. And 13% of the INC. 5000 ranking of America’s fastest-growing companies hail from California.
The national layoff hotspot was Washington, D.C., with 303,800. After California came New York, with 81,701, followed by Georgia with 78,049, and Washington state with 77,700.
As for California’s economic rivals, Texas ranked seventh with 46,400 planned cuts, and Florida ranked ninth with 22,800 planned cuts.
Who’s cutting
A handful of industries dominate the list of layoff plans.
Start with massive government job cuts, primarily in the District of Columbia, as the Trump administration aggressively shrinks the federal payroll.
Nationwide, Challenger reported that announced layoff plans for all government workers totaled 307,600 in the first 10 months of 2025 – the largest cut in any industry and up 269,900, or 715%, in the past year.
The next three shrinking industries have deep ties to California.
Technology had 141,200 cuts announced nationwide, up 20,700 or 17%. Warehousing had 90,400, up 71,500 or 378%. And retail had 88,700 cuts, up 52,500 or 145%.
Growing cuts
California-centric layoffs rose by 22,100 in a year from the first 10 months of 2024. That’s the fifth biggest jump and 5% of the nationwide increase of 665,000.
The largest increase was in D.C., at 269,000, followed by Georgia, with an increase of 60,200, and New Jersey, at 52,700. Florida was No. 8, up 9,800.
Texas had the largest decline, down 20,600, followed by Rhode Island, down 10,600, and Nevada, down 8,400.
The California bump looks less egregious on a percentage-point basis, ranking No. 20 with a 16% increase. Nationwide, these cuts grew by 65%.
The biggest percentage jumps were in Alaska, at 2,346% – yes, it grew almost 25-fold – followed by Maine, up 1,446%, and D.C., up 773%. Florida was No. 12 at 76%.
The largest dips were in Wyoming, down 99%, followed by Rhode Island, down 90%, and Nevada, down 76%. Texas was No. 34, off 31%.
Job chill
The layoffs are further proof of a cooling economy.
Challenger only tracks layoff plans of big companies. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics follows actual layoffs and discharges, which include firings, at companies of all sizes.
Through July, the latest numbers available, the BLS reported that 1.3 million Californians had been laid off or discharged, representing a 69,000 increase – a 6% jump – compared with the first seven months of 2024.
Nationwide, these job cuts totaled 11.4 million in the same timeframe, a 4% increase of 445,000 in a year.
And the shaky employment picture is why the Federal Reserve has shifted its focus from cooling problematic inflation to supporting the job market. The central bank made two cuts in the past two months in the interest rates it controls.
Slow hiring
Challenger also tracks hiring announcements on a national basis. It’s not pretty.
So far in 2025, big companies have announced plans to hire 488,100, which is 35% lower than 2024 and down 53% from the median hires of the previous nine years.
And seasonal hiring plans have been modest at many companies that supply the holiday spirit, from retailers to shippers. Expected year-end staffing increases are down 59% in a year.
Merchants are seeing this wobbly job market help to depress consumer confidence. The Conference Board’s optimism indicators have decreased by 18% statewide and by 8% nationwide over the past year.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
