Iowa Layoffs — January 2015
Employers in Iowa filed 4 WARN Act notices in January 2015, impacting roughly 873 workers — representing a notable rise over December and up 839% versus January 2014. The average filing covered 218 workers, with 0 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3 | 867 |
| Agriculture | 1 | 6 |
The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 867 workers across 3 notices. In a parallel development, Agriculture reported 6 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Black Hawk | 1 | 565 |
| Polk | 3 | 308 |
Black Hawk was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 65% of all affected workers with 565 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Waterloo | 1 | 565 |
| Ankeny | 1 | 287 |
| Johnston | 2 | 21 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 4 | 873 |
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Deere Waterloo Works | Waterloo | 565 | Layoff | |
| John Deere Des Moines Works | Ankeny | 287 | Layoff | |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 15 | Layoff | |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 6 | Layoff |
The single largest action involved John Deere Waterloo Works at its Waterloo facility, reporting 565 affected workers. John Deere Des Moines Works followed with 287 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The data underscores 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.