Layoffs in California outpaced all states in 2025

Tumult in influential tech and film sectors drove the cuts. Only D.C. took a bigger hit.

- By LAURENCE DARMIENTO

CALIFORNIA'S economy faced cuts throughout 2025, in part because of media consolidation and less filming.

(ALLEN J. SCHABEN Los Angeles Times)

Buffeted by upheavals in the tech and entertainment industries, California led the nation in job cuts last year — but the pace of layoffs slowed sharply in December both in the state and nationwide as company hiring plans picked up.

State employers announced just 2,739 layoffs in December, well down from the 14,288 they said they would cut in November.

Still, with the exception of Washington, D.C., California led all states in 2025 with 15,761 job losses, according to a report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The slowdown in December losses was experienced nationwide, where U.S.-based employers announced 35,553 job cuts for the month. That was down 50% from the 71,321 cuts announced in November and down 8% from the 38,792 cuts reported the same month last year.

That amounted to good news in a year that saw the nation’s economy suffer through L2 million layoffs — the most since the economic destruction caused by the pandemic, which led to 2.3 million job losses in 2020, according to the report.