Iowa Layoffs — September 2008
Employers in Iowa submitted 3 WARN Act notices in September 2008, putting at risk an estimated 362 workers — up substantially from August and up 76% versus September 2007. The average filing covered 121 workers, with 1 closure among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 182 |
| Manufacturing | 1 | 180 |
The Finance & Insurance sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 182 workers across 2 notices. Separately, Manufacturing reported 180 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Linn | 1 | 180 |
| Polk | 1 | 177 |
| Marshall | 1 | 5 |
Linn was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 50% of all affected workers with 180 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Cedar Rapids | 1 | 180 |
| Des Moines | 1 | 177 |
| Marshalltown | 1 | 5 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 1 | 180 |
| Layoff | 1 | 177 |
Closures accounted for 50% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norwood Promotional Products | Cedar Rapids | 180 | Closure | |
| Citigroup | Des Moines | 177 | Layoff | |
| Citizens Bank Check Encoding | Marshalltown | 5 |
Topping the list was Norwood Promotional Products at its Cedar Rapids facility, reporting 180 affected workers. Citigroup followed with 177 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 Finance & Insurance 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.