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

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