Iowa Layoffs — November 2018
Employers in Iowa submitted 4 WARN Act notices in November 2018, putting at risk an estimated 521 workers — up substantially from October and up 120% versus November 2017. The average filing covered 130 workers, with 0 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Finance & Insurance | 3 | 486 |
| Agriculture | 1 | 35 |
The Finance & Insurance sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 486 workers across 3 notices. Separately, Agriculture reported 35 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Polk | 4 | 521 |
Polk felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 100% of all affected workers with 521 workers across 4 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| West Des Moines | 3 | 486 |
| Johnston | 1 | 35 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 1 | 418 |
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo | West Des Moines | 418 | Layoff | |
| Equifax | West Des Moines | 52 | ||
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 35 | ||
| Wells Fargo | West Des Moines | 16 |
Topping the list was Wells Fargo at its West Des Moines facility, reporting 418 affected workers. Equifax followed with 52 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
These figures highlight mounting pressure on the Iowa labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Finance & Insurance 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.