Iowa Layoffs — April 2015
Employers in Iowa logged 7 WARN Act notices in April 2015, involving roughly 1,741 workers — climbing above March. The average filing covered 249 workers, with 1 closure among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 1 | 1,606 |
| Manufacturing | 3 | 110 |
| Education | 2 | 24 |
| Agriculture | 1 | 1 |
The Construction sector dominated layoff filings with 1,606 workers across 1 notice. Meanwhile, Manufacturing reported 110 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Lee | 1 | 1,606 |
| Polk | 4 | 84 |
| Union | 1 | 50 |
| Hamilton | 1 | 1 |
Lee bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 92% of all affected workers with 1,606 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Weaver | 1 | 1,606 |
| Johnston | 2 | 60 |
| Creston | 1 | 50 |
| Des Moines | 2 | 24 |
| Webster City | 1 | 1 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 4 | 1,716 |
| Closure | 1 | 17 |
Closures accounted for 1% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RW Constructors | Weaver | 1,606 | Layoff | |
| Northrup Grumman | Johnston | 59 | Layoff | |
| Fansteel Wellman Dynamics | Creston | 50 | Layoff | |
| AIB College of Business | Des Moines | 17 | Closure | |
| AIB College of Business | Des Moines | 7 | ||
| Electrolux Home Products | Webster City | 1 | ||
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 1 | Layoff |
The biggest impact was at RW Constructors at its Weaver facility, reporting 1,606 affected workers. Northrup Grumman followed with 59 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
This data points to mounting pressure on the Iowa labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Construction 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.