Iowa Layoffs — April 2017
Employers in Iowa posted 5 WARN Act notices in April 2017, affecting an estimated 586 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to March and up 78% versus April 2016. The average filing covered 117 workers, with 1 closure among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3 | 483 |
| Accommodation & Food | 1 | 57 |
| Retail | 1 | 46 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 483 workers across 3 notices. On a related front, Accommodation & Food reported 57 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Dickinson | 1 | 275 |
| Cass | 1 | 207 |
| Polk | 1 | 57 |
| Carroll | 1 | 46 |
| Linn | 1 | 1 |
Dickinson bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 47% of all affected workers with 275 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Milford | 1 | 275 |
| Atlantic | 1 | 207 |
| Des Moines | 1 | 57 |
| Carroll | 1 | 46 |
| Cedar Rapids | 1 | 1 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 3 | 539 |
| Closure | 1 | 46 |
Closures accounted for 8% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polaris | Milford | 275 | Layoff | |
| Owner Revolution Inc. - Plastic Professionals | Atlantic | 207 | Layoff | |
| SSP America | Des Moines | 57 | Layoff | |
| Kmart | Carroll | 46 | Closure | |
| Rockwell Collins | Cedar Rapids | 1 |
The largest notice was filed by Polaris at its Milford facility, reporting 275 affected workers. Owner Revolution Inc. - Plastic Professionals followed with 207 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 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.