Iowa Layoffs — August 2009
Employers in Iowa submitted 7 WARN Act notices in August 2009, putting at risk an estimated 410 workers — up substantially from July and up 106% versus August 2008. The average filing covered 59 workers, with 1 closure among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 5 | 274 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 128 |
| Government | 1 | 8 |
The Manufacturing sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 274 workers across 5 notices. Separately, Information & Technology reported 128 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Linn | 2 | 189 |
| Henry | 1 | 128 |
| Wapello | 1 | 48 |
| Clayton | 1 | 35 |
| Lee | 1 | 2 |
Linn saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 46% of all affected workers with 189 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Cedar Rapids | 2 | 189 |
| Mt. Pleasant | 1 | 128 |
| Ottumwa | 1 | 48 |
| Marquette | 1 | 35 |
| Ft. Madison | 1 | 2 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 4 | 341 |
| Closure | 1 | 48 |
Closures accounted for 12% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terex USA | Cedar Rapids | 170 | Layoff | |
| Hearth & Home Technologies | Mt. Pleasant | 128 | Layoff | |
| Praxis Mid-America | Ottumwa | 48 | Closure | |
| Gencor Industries | Marquette | 35 | Layoff | |
| Columbus McKinnon | Cedar Rapids | 19 | ||
| Ready Set Service | 8 | Layoff | ||
| Detroit Tool Metal Products | Ft. Madison | 2 |
Topping the list was Terex USA at its Cedar Rapids facility, reporting 170 affected workers. Hearth & Home Technologies followed with 128 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
These figures highlight mounting pressure on the Iowa labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Manufacturing sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Iowa. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers with 100+ employees to provide 60-day advance notice of mass layoffs and plant closings. Data is updated daily by WARN Firehose. View all Iowa WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.