Laid off from Gap.
Gap's 2023 restructuring cut about 1,800 roles, primarily at headquarters, and a laid-off remote manager's lawsuit alleged its standard severance came only with a waiver of WARN claims. The newer record is store closings, and none of the 23 Gap filings in our WARN tracker is dated after 2024.
At a glance
What's known about Gap severance and layoffs
- 0 filings covering 0 jobs · Gap filings in our WARN tracker since January 2025
- 23 · Gap filings in our WARN tracker, all years
- About 1,800, primarily at headquarters · Gap roles cut in the 2023 restructuring
- About 800 · Jobs in Gap's 2023 California WARN notice
- $93 million, $64 million employee-related · Gap's recorded cost of the 2023 cuts
- 32 company-operated stores · Gap net store closures, fiscal 2025
- Eight weeks, if he waived WARN claims · Severance a laid-off Gap manager says he was offered
Recent Gap layoffs
Gap's Old Navy scheduled a June 23, 2026 closing for its Altoona, Pennsylvania store
TheStreet reported in May 2026 that Old Navy would permanently close its Logan Valley Mall store in Altoona on June 23, five months after closing its Queens store on Northern Boulevard. The same report had Gap's Lakeshore Avenue store in Oakland closing at lease end in summer 2026, with workers able to transfer, and gave no worker count for either.
Previous rounds
Gap layoff history
Gap's 2023 cut arrived in waves. On April 25, management committed to a plan that removed about 1,800 headquarters and upper field roles, the upper field meaning people like regional store leaders with leadership titles outside a headquarters office. By interim CEO Bob Martin's memo as CNBC reported it, international sourcing staff heard on April 18 and 19, headquarters and upper field staff from April 27, and finance the last week of May. The California WARN notice covered about 800 jobs at 2 Folsom St., Athleta's office at 1 Harrison St. and a Fresno distribution center. Gap had framed the goal as fewer management layers and wider spans of control, which is a bloodless way to describe losing a paycheck you counted on. The round came after 500 jobs cut at offices in San Francisco, New York and Asia in September 2022.
Gap's filings put numbers on it. The April 2023 8-K estimated $100 million to $120 million in pre-tax costs, $75 million to $85 million of that employee-related, and repeated the company's expectation of about $300 million in annualized savings. The fiscal 2023 annual report says the reduction was substantially complete in the first half of that fiscal year and cost $93 million, including $64 million employee-related, under the low end of the estimate. Gap had about 95,000 employees in late January 2023, 81% in retail locations and about 9% at headquarters.
The terms on record come from a lawsuit. Ian O'Reilly, a supply chain operations manager who moved from headquarters to Montana during the pandemic, sued in August 2023. His complaint says Gap keeps a Standard Transition Benefits Plan that pays certain employees whose positions are eliminated a lump sum sixty days after termination, sized by salary, tenure and position, and alleges the 2023 offers came only with a release of all WARN claims. It alleges San Francisco staff got at least sixty days' notice and remote staff working out of headquarters got less. His notice came April 27 for a May 12 exit, and his offer, eight weeks, went unsigned. He later settled. Those are allegations, and they still mark two things to find in Gap separation papers, which claims the release gives up and which site the notice ties you to. The complaint argued that remote staff whose home base, work assignments or managers were at headquarters had headquarters as their WARN site of employment.
Store and warehouse jobs have their own record. On March 30, 2020, Gap said it would furlough most of its U.S. and Canadian store teams, pausing pay while keeping applicable benefits, and reduce corporate headcount around the world. In 2013 it announced it would close two distribution facilities in Hebron, Kentucky by June 30, and Kentucky officials said 328 full and part time employees would be let go. More recently the closings have been stores. Gap counted 32 net company-operated closures in fiscal 2025 and gave an outlook of about flat for fiscal 2026, and 2026 brought reported closings of Old Navy stores in Queens and Altoona, Pennsylvania and of Gap's Lakeshore Avenue store in Oakland, where workers were offered transfers to nearby stores.
Our WARN tracker counts 23 Gap filings across the years but 0 filings covering 0 jobs since the start of 2025. 2026 is blank too. Anyone from the San Francisco offices has California's own WARN law alongside the federal act. EDD's summary says the state version reaches an establishment with 75 or more employees, part-timers included, and covers 50 or more layoffs inside 30 days no matter what share of the staff they make up, while federal WARN reaches only employers with a full-time staff of 100 or more. It puts the notice at no less than 60 days. When a notice comes in, Rapid Response teams work with laid-off workers on finding jobs, getting training and understanding unemployment insurance.
Reporting on previous Gap layoff rounds
2026, Old Navy and Gap store closings · Old Navy closed its Queens store at 48th Street and Northern Boulevard on January 22 and scheduled June 23 for its Altoona, Pennsylvania store; Gap's Lakeshore Avenue store in Oakland was reported closing at lease end in summer 2026. Neither the Altoona nor the Oakland report gave a worker count.
Oakland workers were offered transfers to nearby stores, the company said.
Fiscal 2025, company-operated stores · 32 net store closures, per Gap's March 2026 results release, which put fiscal 2026 at about flat
April to May 2023, headquarters and upper field · About 1,800 roles, primarily at headquarters; California's WARN notice covered about 800 at 2 Folsom St., Athleta's 1 Harrison St. office and a Fresno distribution center
A 2023 lawsuit describes a lump sum under Gap's Standard Transition Benefits Plan and alleges it was offered only with a release of WARN claims; eight weeks for the plaintiff.
September 2022, corporate offices · 500 jobs at offices in San Francisco, New York and Asia, as reported
March 2020, store teams and corporate functions · Gap said it would furlough most U.S. and Canadian store teams and reduce corporate headcount around the world, per its March 30, 2020 release
Furloughed store staff were to keep applicable benefits while pay paused, the company said.
2013, Hebron, Kentucky distribution centers · Two distribution facilities set to close June 30; Kentucky officials put the loss at 328 full and part time jobs
What to do after being laid off from Gap
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. Gap's biggest hubs: California. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what Gap's hub states run: California, and every other state is here.
- Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
- Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
- Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.
Gap layoff and severance questions
How many people did Gap lay off in 2023?
About 1,800 headquarters and upper field roles, under a plan committed to on April 25, 2023 and, per Gap's fiscal 2023 annual report, substantially carried out in the first half of fiscal 2023. California's WARN notice covered about 800 of them. It followed 500 jobs cut at Gap's offices in September 2022.
What severance did Gap give laid-off employees?
Gap's annual report booked $64 million in employee-related costs for the 2023 cuts. A 2023 lawsuit says Gap's Standard Transition Benefits Plan pays certain employees whose positions are eliminated a lump sum sixty days after termination, sized by salary, tenure and position, and alleges the 2023 offers required releasing WARN claims. The plaintiff's offer came to eight weeks, the complaint says, and he later settled.
Did Gap give remote workers 60 days' notice before the 2023 layoffs?
A lawsuit alleged it didn't, saying San Francisco staff got at least sixty days' notice and remote staff working out of headquarters got less. The plaintiff, in Missoula, Montana, heard on April 27, 2023 that his job ended May 12. He settled his proposed class action.
Is Gap closing stores in 2026?
Gap's March 2026 results release put net closures of company-operated stores at about flat for fiscal 2026, after 32 in fiscal 2025. Reported 2026 closings include Old Navy in Queens in January, Old Navy in Altoona, Pennsylvania, scheduled for June 23, and Gap's Lakeshore Avenue store in Oakland at lease end in summer 2026, with workers offered transfers.
Did Gap file WARN notices for its layoffs?
For the 2023 round it did in California, where the notice covered about 800 jobs at the San Francisco headquarters, Athleta's headquarters and a Fresno distribution center. Our tracker's 23 Gap filings all predate 2025, so none of the 2026 store closings has one there.
Where do I file for unemployment after being laid off from Gap?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. Gap's biggest U.S. hubs are California. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.
Is it OK to file for unemployment after a layoff at Gap?
Yes. Unemployment insurance is funded by payroll taxes employers pay on wages, the claim never appears on credit reports or background checks, and future employers cannot see it. If the hesitation itself is the obstacle, whether filing is OK has its own article.
What happens to my health insurance after a layoff at Gap?
Your plan sets the end date rather than the law, so the separation packet is where that date actually lives, and it is often the last day of the month rather than your last day of work. After coverage ends, COBRA lets you keep the identical plan by paying the whole premium yourself, up to 102 percent of what the plan really costs, which lands as several times the payroll deduction you were used to. You get 60 days to elect, counted from the later of coverage ending or the election notice arriving, and electing reaches the coverage back to the day the old plan stopped so no gap exists. How continuation coverage works walks the timing, and whether to take it rather than a marketplace plan is a separate decision.
Should I sign the severance agreement right away?
First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from Gap?
Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.