Iowa Layoffs — October 2014
Employers in Iowa posted 7 WARN Act notices in October 2014, affecting an estimated 74 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to September and up 3600% versus October 2013. The average filing covered 11 workers, with 0 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 4 | 40 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 32 |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 2 |
The Agriculture sector saw the heaviest impact with 40 workers across 4 notices. On a related front, Information & Technology reported 32 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Polk | 5 | 72 |
| Winnebago | 1 | 1 |
| Hamilton | 1 | 1 |
Polk absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 97% of all affected workers with 72 workers across 5 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Johnston | 4 | 40 |
| Des Moines | 1 | 32 |
| Lake Mills | 1 | 1 |
| Webster City | 1 | 1 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 4 | 56 |
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hewlett-Packard | Des Moines | 32 | Layoff | |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 16 | ||
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 15 | Layoff | |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 5 | Layoff | |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 4 | Layoff | |
| Cummins Filtration | Lake Mills | 1 | ||
| Electrolux Home Products | Webster City | 1 |
The largest notice was filed by Hewlett-Packard at its Des Moines facility, reporting 32 affected workers. Pioneer Hi-Bred International followed with 16 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Iowa labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Agriculture 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.