Iowa Layoffs — September 2022
Employers in Iowa filed 17 WARN Act notices in September 2022, impacting roughly 959 workers — representing a notable rise over August and up 990% versus September 2021. The average filing covered 56 workers, with 11 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3 | 286 |
| Healthcare | 4 | 227 |
| Retail | 1 | 222 |
| Transportation | 1 | 34 |
| Finance & Insurance | 4 | 33 |
| Professional Services | 1 | 3 |
The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 286 workers across 3 notices. In a parallel development, Healthcare reported 227 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Linn | 2 | 225 |
| Winnebago | 1 | 197 |
| Lee | 1 | 151 |
| Polk | 7 | 110 |
| Des Moines | 2 | 109 |
Linn bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 23% of all affected workers with 225 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Cedar Rapids | 2 | 225 |
| Lake Mills | 1 | 197 |
| Keokuk | 1 | 151 |
| Burlington | 1 | 74 |
| Des Moines | 4 | 50 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 11 | 669 |
| Layoff | 2 | 257 |
The high proportion of closures (70% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Iowa's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nordstrom | Cedar Rapids | 222 | Layoff | |
| Larson Manufacturing | Lake Mills | 197 | Closure | |
| Blessing Health Keokuk | Keokuk | 151 | Closure | |
| Blackhawk Services | Burlington | 74 | Closure | |
| Commercial Vehicle Group | Monona | 45 | Closure | |
| The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society | Postville | 45 | Closure | |
| H.D. Hudson Manufactuing | Eldora | 44 | Closure | |
| Hds | Johnston | 35 | Closure | |
| Great River Health Systems | West Burlington | 35 | Layoff | |
| Gxo | Des Moines | 34 | Closure | |
| Sunnycrest Nursing Center | Dysart | 33 | Closure | |
| Wells Fargo | West Des Moines | 17 | ||
| Wells Fargo | Des Moines | 13 | ||
| QHC Mitchellville | Mitchellville | 8 | Closure | |
| Collabera | Cedar Rapids | 3 | Closure |
The single largest action involved Nordstrom at its Cedar Rapids facility, reporting 222 affected workers. Larson Manufacturing followed with 197 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The data underscores 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.