Two San Antonio employers announced they are laying off a combined 240 workers at the end of the year.
On Oct. 29, local nonprofit Endeavors sent a letter to the Texas Workforce Commission announcing layoffs for 153 workers whose work had been funded through a contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
On Nov. 3, the TWC received another letter, this time from ECAM Technologies. Security company GardaWorld acquired ECAM Technologies, which specializes in video surveillance, and ECAM said it was closing its North Loop 410 facility and laying off 89 workers.
Employers with 100 or more full-time employees are required to submit a notice to the state under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988.
The unemployment rate spiked in San Antonio in the summer, reaching 4.8% in June, the highest rate since 2021.
Rates usually fall toward the end of the year and unemployment dropped to 4.3% in September — the most recently available data.
Endeavors
The San Antonio nonprofit organization had been providing home study and post-release services for unaccompanied minors through a contract with HHS since 2021. But changes in federal immigration enforcement have also changed how federal agencies are allocating their dollars.
Endeavor’s services are for children that have exited federal care and are now with family members or sponsors in the U.S.
“The program provides guidance, check-ins, and connections to local resources to help children and families build stability and adjust successfully,” read a description on Endeavors’ website.
HHS officials said that President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown since taking office had reduced the need for those kinds of services.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the number of unaccompanied alien children entering the United States has declined dramatically, reducing the demand for federally funded care facilities and services. HHS is adjusting its contracts to reflect this decline while continuing to prioritize the safety and well-being of children in federal care,” read a statement from the department.
“Although the contract has previously been renewed each year, three weeks ago we were informed that the Administration for Children and Families will not renew the contract,” added Bruce Knott, senior director of people operations, in the notice to the Texas Workforce Commission.
Knott’s letter said Endeavors will wind down the contract and lay off employees on Dec. 31. The layoffs include more than 50 case managers, as well as case aides, supervisors and other staff.
“A small number of employees may receive offers to transfer to other Endeavors positions or locations, but no transfer offers have been extended at this time,” he said.
The nonprofit started in San Antonio in 1969 and now offers a variety of services across the country, focusing on veterans and youth. It’s headquartered on the Northwest Side.
In 2021, Endeavors won a separate contract worth more than $500 million to open a facility for unaccompanied undocumented children. That contract was scrutinized as a part of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency cuts in early 2025 and canceled at the time.
That contract was different from the one that went unrenewed and led to the layoffs.
ECAM Technologies
ECAM Technologies was created in 2025, when GardaWorld acquired surveillance company Stealth Monitoring and combined it with its own brand, ECAMSECURE, to create a new arm of its company focused on artificial intelligence-driven surveillance.
Now, the company is pulling back from San Antonio and closing its facility in the Century Building on Loop 410 and Jonas Maltsberger Road.
Employees who work either on-site or remotely will be laid off, starting on Dec. 31. A majority of those are escalation specialists, according to the company’s notice. ECAM did not respond to phone calls requesting comment.
GardaWorld gained local attention earlier this year for its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to operate at a facility in San Antonio.
The city of San Antonio sued ICE over that contract in October.
