Laid off from LeeMAH Electronics.

What LeeMAH Electronics layoffs have meant for employees

If you worked at South Hill Drive, California's list is more useful as a calendar than as a head count. Its three notices give three effective dates, and SFGATE's July account had the first filing's layoffs alone running from September to December, so no single line in the state's report tells you when a particular job ends. If a notice reached you, its dates are a clue to set beside the state's three, since a match suggests which filing covers you without proving it. The effective date the state lists may not be a given worker's last day.

The July filing ran from the assembly line to the top of the company, which makes this read as the end of an operation and not a trim. It matters locally too. Brisbane's fiscal 2024 financial report had LeeMAH at about 8% of city employment. The same SFGATE account gave the end of the year as the headquarters' closing point, but the last listed site closing doesn't prove the whole company has, and the San Francisco Chronicle stopped short of saying so in July.

The reason on record is three words long, "changing business needs," and that phrase would fit almost any closing. The older record is more specific. In 2004 the Chronicle wrote that Hong Mah had built a factory in Taishan, China, in part to cut labor costs, and that the company kept its Bay Area plants to stay close to customers' research and development divisions. Two years later the Labor Department's 2006 notice found LeeMAH making fewer circuit boards at home while relying more on imports. If you're trying to work out why your job ended, that history is useful background, and it's worth keeping apart from the company's stated reason for Brisbane.

The 2001 layoff is where LeeMAH workers said publicly how a last paycheck went. The San Francisco Chronicle reported allegations that workers, many of whom spoke only Cantonese and Mandarin, had to sign a termination letter in English before they could get final paychecks, and workers said they didn't receive full vacation and back pay. California's Labor Commissioner's Office speaks to both. It says anyone discharged must get all wages, accrued vacation included, immediately at termination, and that even in a dispute an employer must pay undisputed wages without requiring a release. A willful failure can bring a waiting time penalty of up to 30 days' pay. For a missed regular payday, the office tells workers to contact it and says it will explain the law to the employer. If a last check comes up short, those are the rules to set it against.

The numbers show how much of the shrinking fell outside that one layoff. The 2001 story put the Bay Area at close to 950 before the cut, and by June 2004 the Chronicle had it at 280, a drop of about 70%. Three federal certifications, from a July 2002 notice to a February 2010 notice, covered San Francisco workers, and the 2006 one added a benefit for older workers after the department found a significant number were 50 or over with skills that weren't easily transferable. Those certifications don't establish eligibility for a 2026 layoff. The Labor Department says that since July 1, 2022 it may not issue determinations or accept new petitions until further notice, and that workers certified and separated on or before June 30, 2022 may still be eligible. State unemployment is a separate system, and its rules are laid out for California and Texas.

A sourced history of LeeMAH Electronics layoffs

• July to September 2026, Brisbane closing notices

  California's WARN report logs notices dated July 7, August 17 and September 11 listing 212, 205 and 62 jobs on South Hill Drive, all typed as permanent closures, effective September 8, October 16 and December 21. The July filing named the president and 92 assemblers among the layoffs, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

• December 2025, Richardson, Texas, plant closing notice

  A Texas notice dated December 10 listed 84 jobs in Richardson, per our WARN tracker, and the San Francisco Chronicle reported that LeeMAH closed the plant and laid off 84 workers in February and March 2026.

• May 2008, San Francisco import-related job losses

  The Labor Department certified LeeMAH workers in San Francisco under its increased-imports test, with a May 18, 2008 impact date, a February 2010 Federal Register notice shows.

• June 2005, San Francisco circuit board and cable jobs

  After first denying aid, the Labor Department concluded that imports contributed importantly to job losses at LeeMAH in San Francisco and certified workers separated on or after June 2, 2005, its November 2006 Federal Register notice says.

• September 2004, Richardson, Texas, layoff notice

  A Texas notice dated September 16 listed 76 jobs in Richardson, effective November 17, per our WARN tracker.

• September 2001, Folsom Street layoffs and City Hall protest

  About 250 employees, mostly women in their 30s, were fired at Folsom Street and told there was no more work, a Chinese Progressive Association leader told the San Francisco Chronicle. Workers rallied at City Hall, saying they got no 60-day notice or full vacation and back pay. A 2004 Chronicle profile said LeeMAH reached a settlement.

• November 2000, San Francisco trade certification

  LeeMAH workers in San Francisco won trade adjustment assistance certification with an impact date of November 30, 2000, a July 2002 Federal Register notice shows.

What to do if you're laid off from LeeMAH Electronics

• File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. LeeMAH Electronics's biggest hubs: California, Texas. 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 LeeMAH Electronics's hub states run: California, Texas, 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.