Iowa Layoffs — May 2024
Employers in Iowa submitted 13 WARN Act notices in May 2024, putting at risk an estimated 395 workers — down from April and down 26% versus May 2023. The average filing covered 30 workers, with 1 closure among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1 | 192 |
| Wholesale Trade | 4 | 61 |
| Transportation | 1 | 45 |
| Retail | 5 | 42 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 31 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 24 |
The Manufacturing sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 192 workers across 1 notice. Separately, Wholesale Trade reported 61 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Black Hawk | 3 | 208 |
| Polk | 6 | 101 |
| Dubuque | 1 | 45 |
| Mills | 1 | 31 |
| Clinton | 1 | 5 |
Black Hawk was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 53% of all affected workers with 208 workers across 3 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Waterloo | 1 | 192 |
| Des Moines | 5 | 77 |
| Dubuque | 1 | 45 |
| Glenwood | 1 | 31 |
| West Des Moines | 1 | 24 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 11 | 326 |
| Closure | 1 | 45 |
Closures accounted for 11% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Deere Waterloo Works | Waterloo | 192 | Layoff | |
| Dauntless Delivery | Dubuque | 45 | Closure | |
| Amcor | Des Moines | 41 | Layoff | |
| On With Life | Glenwood | 31 | Layoff | |
| Wells Fargo | West Des Moines | 24 | ||
| Cygnus Home Service, LLC DBA Yelloh | Des Moines | 16 | Layoff | |
| Amcor | Des Moines | 10 | Layoff | |
| Amcor | Des Moines | 9 | Layoff | |
| Cygnus Home Service, LLC DBA Yelloh | Cedar Falls | 8 | Layoff | |
| Cygnus Home Services, LLC DBA Yelloh | Cedar Falls | 8 | Layoff | |
| Cygnus Home Service, LLC DBA Yelloh | DeWitt | 5 | Layoff | |
| Cygnus Home Services, LLC DBA Yelloh | Humboldt | 5 | Layoff | |
| Amcor | Des Moines | 1 | Layoff |
Topping the list was John Deere Waterloo Works at its Waterloo facility, reporting 192 affected workers. Dauntless Delivery followed with 45 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This is the third consecutive month of declining layoff activity.
These figures highlight a easing in workforce disruptions across Iowa, with filings falling below both recent and year-ago levels. 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.