Iowa Layoffs — April 2018
Employers in Iowa logged 15 WARN Act notices in April 2018, involving roughly 1,052 workers — climbing above March and up 80% versus April 2017. The average filing covered 70 workers, with 11 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | 9 | 766 |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 145 |
| Accommodation & Food | 1 | 78 |
| Professional Services | 1 | 39 |
| Agriculture | 1 | 23 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 1 |
The Retail sector dominated layoff filings with 766 workers across 9 notices. Meanwhile, Manufacturing reported 145 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Polk | 6 | 496 |
| Johnson | 2 | 222 |
| Linn | 3 | 146 |
| Dubuque | 1 | 90 |
| Cerro Gordo | 1 | 64 |
Polk bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 47% of all affected workers with 496 workers across 6 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| West Des Moines | 2 | 272 |
| Coralville | 2 | 222 |
| Des Moines | 2 | 162 |
| Cedar Rapids | 3 | 146 |
| Dubuque | 1 | 90 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 11 | 800 |
| Layoff | 2 | 117 |
The high proportion of closures (76% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Iowa's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Younkers | West Des Moines | 164 | Closure | |
| General Dynamics | Coralville | 112 | ||
| Younkers | Coralville | 110 | Closure | |
| Younkers | West Des Moines | 108 | Closure | |
| Younkers | Cedar Rapids | 95 | Closure | |
| Younkers | Dubuque | 90 | Closure | |
| Younkers | Des Moines | 84 | Closure | |
| Aramark | Des Moines | 78 | Layoff | |
| Younkers | Mason City | 64 | Closure | |
| Sears Holdings | Cedar Rapids | 45 | Closure | |
| The Barrent Group | Urbandale | 39 | Layoff | |
| Mahle | Winterset | 33 | Closure | |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 23 | ||
| Sears Auto Store | Cedar Rapids | 6 | Closure | |
| Sitel | Nashville | 1 | Closure |
The biggest impact was at Younkers at its West Des Moines facility, reporting 164 affected workers. General Dynamics followed with 112 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
This data points to mounting pressure on the Iowa labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Retail 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.