US Motor Works files notice to close its Los Angeles parts site

Overview

Updated 5 hours ago

US Motor Works filed notice with California's Employment Development Department on October 30 to close its Los Angeles site at 3901 Medford Street. The filing lists 19 affected employees and sets December 31, 2026 as the closure date.

A WARN notice is a statement of intent, not a record that jobs have ended. The federal law behind it requires 60 days' written notice, and this filing lands 62 days before the date it names. California's own WARN statute covers layoffs of 50 or more at employers with 75 or more workers; at 19, this filing sits below that threshold, and the notice gives no reason for the closure.

Why it matters

Nineteen jobs end at a Los Angeles auto-parts plant on December 31, with two months of public notice for workers to act.

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Key Indicators

Employees affected

Workers listed at the 3901 Medford Street site in the WARN filing.

Days from notice to closure date

Filed October 30, closure dated December 31, just past the 60-day federal minimum.

Layoffs that trigger California's WARN law

State law covers employers with 75 or more workers cutting 50 or more jobs in 30 days.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Gil Benjamin

President and chief executive, US Motor Works

Leads the company that filed the Los Angeles closure notice

Doron Goren

Chief operating officer, US Motor Works

Oversees operations across the company's US and Mexico sites

Organizations Involved

US Motor Works, LLC

Aftermarket auto-parts manufacturer and distributor

Filed notice to close its Los Angeles site on December 31, 2026

A privately held maker of engine cooling and fuel-system parts, headquartered in Santa Fe Springs, California.

California Employment Development Department

State agency

Receives and publishes WARN notices for California employers

The state agency that collects layoff and closure notices and publishes them as a running list.

Timeline

1995 October 2026

6 events Latest: October 30th, 2026 · 1 week ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

October 2026
WARN notice filed for Los Angeles site
Latest Filing

The notice reports 19 affected employees at 3901 Medford Street, with closure dated December 31.
October 30th, 2026
2024
Missouri fulfillment center opens
Company history

A 167,000-square-foot central warehouse opens in Liberty, Missouri.
2024
2021
OSC Automotive acquired, Monterrey plant added
Company history

The company adds Mexican manufacturing capacity and a heat-transfer brand.
2021
October 2018
Performance Division certified to ISO 9001:2015
Company history

The division matches the certification already held by the Santa Fe Springs facility.
October 2018
2016
Performance Division formed
Company history

Derale Performance and Pacer Performance join the company as one division.
2016
1995
US Motor Works founded in California
Company history

Gil Benjamin and Doron Goren move a small water-pump plant from New Jersey to California.
1995

Scenarios

Los Angeles site closes December 31 as filed

Likely Resolves by Jan 31, 2027

Discussed by: US Motor Works' own filing with the California Employment Development Department

The most direct reading of the notice: operations at 3901 Medford Street end on the date named, all 19 positions go, and the company's other plants in Santa Fe Springs, Georgia, Missouri and Monterrey absorb whatever work remains. Nothing in the public filing suggests a different schedule.

A second notice adds more Los Angeles job cuts

Uncertain Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: No analyst coverage found; inferred from the gap between this filing and California's 50-worker threshold

A 19-person notice from a company that operates a much larger Los Angeles footprint invites the question of whether this is the whole cut. If more positions follow, the mechanism is a further WARN filing, which would appear on the state list with its own date and headcount.

Closure date slips past December 31

Unlikely Resolves by Jan 31, 2027

Discussed by: No public prediction; listed because WARN dates are frequently revised

Employers sometimes extend a notice or push a closure date when a lease, a contract or a customer commitment runs longer than planned. That would show up as a revised filing, a new date on the state list, or a company statement. Nothing in the current record indicates it.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1988

Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (1988)

Congress required employers with 100 or more workers to give 60 days' written notice before a plant closing or mass layoff. The law was meant to give workers time to look for jobs or training before the paycheck stopped, rather than after.

Then

Employers began filing notices, and states built lists to publish them.

Now

The 60-day window became the standard disclosure period, and most states, California among them, wrote their own versions with lower thresholds.

Why this matters now

The US Motor Works filing exists on a public state list because of this law, giving workers and local officials a dated record two months before the closure.

2026

California's separate WARN statute (Labor Code 1400.5)

California runs its own layoff-notice law, cited on the state employment department's WARN page. It covers employers with 75 or more workers and layoffs of 50 or more within 30 days, a lower bar than the federal statute, and it requires employers to say how they will connect workers to local workforce services.

Then

More California layoffs land on a public list than federal law alone would produce.

Now

The state list has become the main public record of California plant closures, updated as employers file.

Why this matters now

The Los Angeles filing sits on that state list, though at 19 employees it falls below the state's own 50-worker trigger.