Iowa Layoffs — May 2024
Employers in Iowa recorded 13 WARN Act notices in May 2024, covering approximately 395 workers — marking a decline 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 accounted for the largest share of job cuts with 192 workers across 1 notice. At the same time, 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 absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, 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 |
Leading 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.
The filings reflect 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.