Rep. Ro Khanna, a member of the U.S. Congress representing California’s 17th district since 2017, recently addressed significant job losses across various sectors in the United States through a series of tweets. These posts highlight the impact of industrial closures and layoffs on communities.
On May 16, 2025, Rep. Khanna tweeted about a major layoff event in Turlock, California. He stated that “The largest layoff was in Turlock, California, where Foster Farms closed its turkey processing plant due to impacts from the bird flu epidemic. 519 employees lost their jobs in the closure.”
In another tweet on the same day, Rep. Khanna commented on broader economic trends affecting employment nationwide: “As the fallout from years of deindustrialization policies continues, more factories across the country close and leave communities devastated.” He further noted that during that week alone, “1,030 employees lost their jobs when five companies administered mass layoffs and one closed.”
Further detailing specific impacts within California’s manufacturing sector, Rep. Khanna reported on job cuts at Cepheid: “167 jobs were cut from Cepheid, a medical equipment manufacturing facility, when the company announced mass layoffs affecting more than 14 facilities across California.” He highlighted that “More than half of the impacted workers were in Sunnyvale, California.”
Ro Khanna has been an active political figure since replacing Mike Honda in Congress in 2017. Born in Philadelphia and currently residing in Fremont at age 46, he holds degrees from both the University of Chicago and Yale University.
