Iowa Layoffs — August 2012

Employers in Iowa recorded 5 WARN Act notices in August 2012, covering approximately 330 workers — marking a sharp increase from July and up 164% versus August 2011. The average filing covered 66 workers, with 3 closures among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

Industry	Notices	Workers
Utilities	1	76

The Utilities sector accounted for the largest share of job cuts with 76 workers across 1 notice.

Geographic Hotspots

County	Notices	Workers
Polk	3	188
Linn	2	142

Polk felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 57% of all affected workers with 188 workers across 3 notices.

City	Notices	Workers
Des Moines	2	179
Cedar Rapids	2	142
Urbandale	1	9

Layoff Type Analysis

Type	Notices	Workers
Closure	3	245
Layoff	1	76

The high proportion of closures (74% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Iowa's labor market.

Largest Layoffs

Company	City	Workers	Type	Date
Eagle Iron Works	Des Moines	100	Closure	2012-08-13
Regional Elite	Des Moines	79	Closure	2012-08-31
Clipper Windpower, LLC	Cedar Rapids	76	Layoff	2012-08-20
Regional Elite	Cedar Rapids	66	Closure	2012-08-31
Lennox	Urbandale	9		2012-08-31

Leading the list was Eagle Iron Works at its Des Moines facility, reporting 100 affected workers. Regional Elite followed with 79 workers.

Trend & Outlook

After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.

The filings reflect mounting pressure on the Iowa labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Utilities 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.