Iowa Layoffs — May 2022
Employers in Iowa reported 8 WARN Act notices in May 2022, displacing an estimated 625 workers — signaling an acceleration from April and up 1462% versus May 2021. The average filing covered 78 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Finance & Insurance | 5 | 380 |
| Manufacturing | 1 | 172 |
The Finance & Insurance sector topped the list of affected industries with 380 workers across 5 notices. Notably, Manufacturing reported 172 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Linn | 1 | 322 |
| Lee | 1 | 172 |
| Polk | 4 | 58 |
| Des Moines | 1 | 57 |
| Boone | 1 | 16 |
Linn absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 52% of all affected workers with 322 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Cedar Rapids | 1 | 322 |
| Fort Madison | 1 | 172 |
| Burlington | 1 | 57 |
| Des Moines | 2 | 49 |
| Boone | 1 | 16 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 2 | 338 |
| Layoff | 3 | 273 |
The high proportion of closures (54% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Iowa's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Financial Services | Cedar Rapids | 322 | Closure | |
| Siemens Gamesa Renewable Engergy | Fort Madison | 172 | Layoff | |
| Blackhawk Services | Burlington | 57 | Layoff | |
| Wells Fargo | Des Moines | 44 | Layoff | |
| Ace International | Boone | 16 | Closure | |
| Wells Fargo | West Des Moines | 6 | ||
| Wells Fargo | Des Moines | 5 | ||
| Wells Fargo | West Des Moines | 3 |
The most significant filing came from Toyota Financial Services at its Cedar Rapids facility, reporting 322 affected workers. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Engergy followed with 172 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The numbers illustrate 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.