FREMONT — Bay Area employers have issued official notices for furloughs, layoffs, or job cuts that have hopped past 100,000 in eight weeks — even as more workers are unable to reach the state labor agency to process unemployment claims — a reminder of the grim economic effects spawned by coronavirus-linked shutdowns.
Since government-imposed lockdowns of businesses that began two months ago in mid-March, Bay Area employers reported to the state’s Employment Development Department plans for layoffs of one kind or another totaling about 114,000, this news organization’s analysis of the EDD’s official filings shows. These include permanent shutdowns of business locations, permanent layoffs, temporary layoffs, or furloughs.
The state EDD is scheduled to release on Friday an official employment report that will detail the status of the Bay Area job market during April, which was the first full month of business shutdowns that were imposed by an array of government agencies throughout California, including this region.
The largest single job-loss event of 2020 occurred as a result of Tesla’s decision to furlough 11,100 workers at two locations in Fremont, including Tesla’s vehicle factory in the East Bay city.
A tsunami of layoffs has flooded the state Employment Development. Amid the deluge, a growing number of workers who lost their jobs say they remain unable to reach the agency to process their claims.
People continue to report they are unable to reach a live person at the EDD’s broken call center. Jobless workers also say the EDD’s web portal remains hobbled by glitches and unresponsive pages.
“I spent an entire week trying to get through to the EDD just trying to apply,” said Jeff Hamilton, a Santa Cruz resident who lost his job at a Los Gatos tutoring center, and then applied for unemployment around March 23. “The system was messed up from the start. It has been overwhelmed.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom has acknowledged the difficulties with the EDD phone banks and computer system. The governor hasn’t specified, however, the manner in which the problem would be solved, or the precise time frame for a solution.
On Monday, multiple attempts to reach a live person at all three of the EDD’s public numbers failed.
However, one noticeable change did occur at one of the three lines. The EDD changed the voice that greeted phone callers at one number. The bottom line at the EDD phone banks, however, was familiar on all three lines.
“We are currently receiving more calls than we can answer and are unable to assist you,” an EDD recorded message stated. “Please try again later.”
