Iowa Layoffs — September 2018
Employers in Iowa reported 9 WARN Act notices in September 2018, displacing an estimated 284 workers — signaling an acceleration from August and up 324% versus September 2017. The average filing covered 32 workers, with 5 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3 | 118 |
| Accommodation & Food | 2 | 50 |
| Agriculture | 2 | 48 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 35 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 33 |
The Manufacturing sector topped the list of affected industries with 118 workers across 3 notices. Notably, Accommodation & Food reported 50 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Jones | 1 | 70 |
| Guthrie | 1 | 46 |
| Polk | 1 | 35 |
| Cass | 1 | 33 |
| Dubuque | 1 | 25 |
Jones bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 25% of all affected workers with 70 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Monticello | 1 | 70 |
| Adair | 1 | 46 |
| West Des Moines | 1 | 35 |
| Atlantic | 1 | 33 |
| Dubuque | 1 | 25 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 5 | 179 |
| Layoff | 2 | 79 |
The high proportion of closures (63% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Iowa's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medplast/Viant | Monticello | 70 | Closure | |
| Owner Revolution Inc. - Schafer Systems | Adair | 46 | Layoff | |
| Broker Dealer Financial Services | West Des Moines | 35 | Closure | |
| Owner Revolution Inc. - Connect A Doc | Atlantic | 33 | Layoff | |
| Eurest Services @ John Deere Dubuque | Dubuque | 25 | Closure | |
| Eurest Services @ John Deere Davenport Works | Davenport | 25 | Closure | |
| VeroBlue Farms | Fort Dodge | 24 | Closure | |
| Vero Blue Farms | Webster City | 24 | ||
| General Dynamics | Coralville | 2 |
The most significant filing came from Medplast/Viant at its Monticello facility, reporting 70 affected workers. Owner Revolution Inc. - Schafer Systems followed with 46 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The numbers illustrate 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.