He also blamed the drop-off in customers on raids and tactics used in recent weeks by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Diamond Bar, which created a climate of fear in the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hurting a lot of business,\u201d Yoon said. \u201cCatching criminals is great, but not everyone is a criminal. There are a lot of hard-working people that are having their families broken up. That\u2019s sad to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 48-year-old Yoon voted for Trump a year ago but now regrets it. \u201cI\u2019m hoping for the best, but nobody comes out to eat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Yoon isn\u2019t the only business owner barely making ends meet these days.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/OCR-L-ECONOMY-MERCHANTS-1109.jpg\")
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Businesses across Southern California have shed thousands of workers amid a slowing economy, many citing similar reasons to Yoon\u2019s \u2014 stretching from Anaheim to Ontario and Pasadena.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas<\/a> reported that last month was the worst October for layoff announcements since 2003. California saw 158,734 people laid off from Jan. 1-Oct. 31, up 16% over last year\u2019s 136,661 \u2014 the second-largest employment cuts nationwide, according to the outplacement firm.<\/p>\n Cuts in federal funding \u2014 fueled by the longest-running federal government shutdown, now at 40 days \u2014 also are having their effects. Tariff wars with foreign nations over imports have rattled local businesses, as some are struggling with inflation and labor issues.<\/p>\n Cal State University Fullerton economists Anil Puri and Mira Farka<\/a> and other economists with UCLA Anderson<\/a>\u00a0and Beacon Economics<\/a> recently delivered cautionary forecasts on the state of the economy.<\/p>\n Underscoring the concerns, the CSUF economists said that inflation is expected to likely continue to \u201cedge higher into the first quarter of next year,\u201d though they do not expect it to get out of hand, anticipating a peak of around 3.5%.\u201d\u00a0 They added that inflation has \u201cyet to crest,\u201d and \u201cthe labor market has yet to find its floor \u2014 though neither is expected to inflict as much pain as once feared.\u201d<\/p>\n The current annual inflation rate for the U.S. was 3% for the year period ending in September. New inflation statistics published by the regional\u00a0Consumer Price Indexes<\/a> for September show an 3.5% inflation rate for Los Angeles and Orange counties. That\u2019s the\u00a0biggest cost-of-living bump<\/a>\u00a0in 16 months.<\/p>\n The economists said they wouldn\u2019t be surprised if the remainder of the year is marked by \u201ca few more bumps, with payrolls weakening further as firms await clarity on trade deals, the government shutdown and overall consumer demand.\u201d<\/p>\n Unemployment ticks up<\/p>\n Layoffs in the region have picked up from a year ago, according to the government\u2019s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the official federal agency that keeps track of jobs data.<\/p>\n The BLS paused updates during the government\u2019s shutdown that began Oct. 1. In August<\/a>, the unemployment rate in Orange County stood at 4.6%, down from a revised 4.8% in July 2025, but\u00a0 above the year-ago estimate of 4.5%. Similar unemployment trends were reported in Los Angeles County<\/a> (6.3% in August), Riverside County<\/a> (6.1%) and San Bernardino County<\/a> (6.1%).<\/p>\n Puri and Farka said people should brace for sticker shock when the government reopens, revising figures on job losses and \u201calarming\u201d hiring conditions.<\/p>\n In the past month, Anaheim theme park Disneyland<\/a> laid off 100 salaried employees as Orange County\u2019s largest employer recalibrates its business ahead of the busy Christmas holiday season. Amazon<\/a> also is cutting 760 jobs in Southern California \u2014 333 in Irvine \u2014\u00a0 beginning in January as part of a shakeup driven by artificial intelligence, and Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties<\/a> laid off 81 people as it shutters Melody Health, its primary care practice, due to federal budget cuts.<\/p>\n Other layoffs in October:<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena laid off 550 employees<\/a> as part of its continued streamlining and restructuring plan across technical, business and support areas. This is the third round of layoffs at JPL in the past two years. Some companies even feel the time is ripe to sell.<\/p>\n In August<\/a>, Las Vegas-based Silver State HVAC, Refrigeration & Plumbing<\/a> acquired The Whitman Co.<\/a>\u00a0in Anaheim.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to avoid a fire sale,\u201d said Linda Whitman, manager of the business and married to owner Fred Whitman, who pointed to the rising cost of doing business in California and plans to retire while the going was good.<\/p>\n She said profit margins were shrinking due to the rising prices of commercial-grade heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems since the pandemic when supplies tightened, plus challenges emerging in the past year with tariffs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe sold primarily for retirement purposes, but it also was driven by what you\u2019ve heard a million times. It\u2019s getting impossible to run a business in California,\u201d Whitman said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to sustain that when costs for workers\u2019 compensation and liability insurance are going up 25% year-over-year, in addition to labor costs and everything else.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of our big customers is a chain restaurant, and they have been struggling, and that of course affects us,\u201d said Whitman, whose company has avoided layoffs by cutting back hours during certain times of the year. \u201cIf we weren\u2019t going to be retiring, it would have been for all the other reasons that we might sell. Our sales have been increasing, but our profitability has not.\u201d<\/p>\n ICE raids not helping<\/p>\n In Ontario, local shopkeepers are also worried about the economy.<\/p>\n In May 2024, Javier Barajas and his wife, Tania Mangas, took over the Tortas Ahogadas Chapala restaurant in downtown Ontario along G Street. It\u2019s located in a strip center across the street from the popular El Pescador Mexican restaurant along Euclid Avenue \u2014 which was packed on Tuesday with a lunchtime crowd of city probation officers and office workers.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are scared,\u201d said Barajas of the ICE raids.<\/p>\n Also see: Inland Empire ICE detainees include gardeners, students,<\/a> fa<\/a>thers<\/a><\/p>\n Recent ICE operations in Ontario<\/a> have dampened dining out and shopping. Business owners interviewed cited high-profile incidents like a landscaper being detained inside a surgical center<\/a>\u00a0in July, and a\u00a0shooting during a vehicle stop<\/a> in October. Other incidents include the taking into custody of at least three people at a\u00a0Stater Bros. Markets<\/a>\u00a0along Holt Boulevard and\u00a0arrests of gardeners<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tariffs have not treated Barajas very well, as the price for meats added to Mexican dishes have doubled. On Tuesday, there were a handful of customers eating at the restaurant \u2014 which he says was busier before the raids began in the community this past summer.<\/p>\n For instance, he said, a chuck roll \u2014 a large boneless cut of beef from the shoulder of the cow \u2014 shot to $7.50 from $3.80 a pound last year, while a pound of ranchera meat \u2014 a higher premium type of beef cut, most commonly used in Mexican dishes like carne asada \u2014 jumped to $10.50 from $7 a pound.<\/p>\n He says beef prices are up because tariffs have led to higher overhead costs for feed, fuel and labor that have contributed to higher prices consumers see at the grocery store and in their bills at restaurants \u2014 like at his.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s super hard to make money. I spend all of my money on the restaurant,\u201d said Barajas, who has posted a \u201chelp wanted\u201d sign on his restaurant\u2019s front door to fill a cook opening.<\/p>\n At the JROD Insurance Agency just south of El Pescador, owner Jesse Rodriguez said that his business is barely getting by.<\/p>\n
\nThe University of Southern California began cutting 259 jobs on Oct. 31 as it tackles a rising operating deficit of more than $230 million Since July 9, USC has laid off \u2014 or is in the process of terminating \u2014 975 people throughout the university system\u2019s nearly 24,600 faculty and staff.
\nKaiser Permanente also\u00a0laid off hundreds of workers<\/a> across California.
\nManna Beverages, an Anaheim-based beverage bottling company, announced its sudden closure in October due to \u201cunderperformance of the business,\u201d forcing 627 layoffs statewide, nearly 40% of whom worked in Anaheim.<\/p>\n
![\"At](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/OCR-L-ECONOMY-MERCHANTSrodriguez-1109-01-01.jpg\")
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