Iowa Layoffs — October 2024
Employers in Iowa filed 11 WARN Act notices in October 2024, impacting roughly 662 workers — representing a notable rise over September and up 360% versus October 2023. The average filing covered 60 workers, with 4 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 8 | 568 |
| Finance & Insurance | 3 | 94 |
The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 568 workers across 8 notices. In a parallel development, Finance & Insurance reported 94 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Poweshiek | 1 | 152 |
| Floyd | 1 | 132 |
| Dallas | 1 | 88 |
| Scott | 1 | 80 |
| Polk | 3 | 72 |
Poweshiek was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 23% of all affected workers with 152 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Grinnell | 1 | 152 |
| Charles City | 1 | 132 |
| Waukee | 1 | 88 |
| Davenport | 1 | 80 |
| Cedar Rapids | 1 | 54 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 5 | 346 |
| Closure | 4 | 306 |
Closures accounted for 46% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeld-Wen | Grinnell | 152 | Layoff | |
| Pure Prairie Poultry | Charles City | 132 | Closure | |
| QG Printing II | Waukee | 88 | Closure | |
| John Deere Davenport Works | Davenport | 80 | Layoff | |
| Toyota Financial Services | Cedar Rapids | 54 | Closure | |
| Omaha Standard | Council Bluffs | 49 | Layoff | |
| Winnebago Industries | Forest City | 33 | Layoff | |
| Continuus Materials | Des Moines | 32 | Closure | |
| Wells Fargo | West Des Moines | 32 | Layoff | |
| Wells Fargo | West Des Moines | 8 | ||
| Gates | Newton | 2 |
The single largest action involved Jeld-Wen at its Grinnell facility, reporting 152 affected workers. Pure Prairie Poultry followed with 132 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.