RAD Urban, an Oakland modular builder aiming to slash housing construction costs, has joined the Bay Area’s latest wave of layoffs, cutting 170 factory workers even as the region’s unemployment rate holds below 3%.
State filings submitted this week under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act reveal job losses spanning cybersecurity, food delivery, leather manufacturing, and modular construction. The cuts stem from corporate restructurings and completed projects rather than a broader economic slowdown.
Symantec, the Mountain View cybersecurity firm, will eliminate 152 positions at its headquarters. Another 18 jobs vanish in San Francisco and 36 more in Culver City, Los Angeles County.
The company employs over 11,000 people globally and serves more than 50 million customers through Norton antivirus software and LifeLock identity protection. Last month, Symantec agreed to sell its enterprise division, which secures larger businesses, to San Jose chipmaker Broadcom.
On Aug. 8, the same day it announced that deal, Symantec warned of a 7% workforce reduction through next March. Affected employees learned that day, and their employment ends Oct. 15.
Symantec also plans to downsize or shutter certain facilities and data centers. The company expects roughly $100 million in related costs: $75 million for severance and $25 million for site closures. Symantec did not respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, Nestlé is closing 12 California delivery sites and laying off more than 500 workers as part of 4,000 nationwide cuts. The Swiss food giant is abandoning direct-to-store distribution for frozen items such as pizza and ice cream, instead shipping to retailers’ distribution centers.
The company laid off 313 employees at four Southern California locations in mid-August. Another 265 workers lose jobs this week at eight additional sites, including Oakland, San Leandro, Gilroy, and Sacramento. None of the affected California workers belong to a union.
In San Francisco, leather goods maker Circa of America will shut its Bayview factory after 52 years in the city. The closure eliminates 92 jobs and moves the company’s headquarters to Atlanta.
Circa’s 100,000-square-foot facility at 1330 Fitzgerald Ave., operating in the Bayview since 1989, produces belts and accessories for clients including Gap, Old Navy, and Target. Layoffs begin Nov. 1.
Founded in 1967 by Ronaldo Cianciarulo, who sold leather belts from a van in Haight-Ashbury, Circa sold to a private equity firm in 2015. A company spokeswoman cited changing economic conditions in San Francisco and a shifting customer base for the decision.
For RAD Urban, the 170 layoffs at its Lathrop factory in San Joaquin County reflect a production transition, not closure. CEO Randy Miller said work on the company’s 204-unit project at 5110 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood continues, while the factory retools for a new tower project. Layoffs take effect Oct. 19, leaving about 150 employees.
