Iowa Layoffs — February 2026

Employers in Iowa submitted 16 WARN Act notices in February 2026, putting at risk an estimated 654 workers — up substantially from January and up 186% versus February 2025. The average filing covered 41 workers, with 1 closure among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

The Manufacturing sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 514 workers across 13 notices. Separately, Healthcare reported 89 workers.

Geographic Hotspots

Iowa felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 52% of all affected workers with 341 workers across 1 notices.

Layoff Type Analysis

Closures accounted for 14% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.

Largest Layoffs

Topping the list was Whirlpool at its Amana facility, reporting 341 affected workers. Cedar Valley followed with 89 workers.

Trend & Outlook

This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.

These figures highlight 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.