Iowa Layoffs — August 2015
Employers in Iowa logged 4 WARN Act notices in August 2015, involving roughly 512 workers — climbing above July. The average filing covered 128 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1 | 404 |
| Transportation | 1 | 77 |
| Retail | 1 | 25 |
| Agriculture | 1 | 6 |
The Manufacturing sector dominated layoff filings with 404 workers across 1 notice. Meanwhile, Transportation reported 77 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Crawford | 1 | 404 |
| Johnson | 1 | 77 |
| Cerro Gordo | 1 | 25 |
| Polk | 1 | 6 |
Crawford felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 79% of all affected workers with 404 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Denison | 1 | 404 |
| Iowa City | 1 | 77 |
| Mason City | 1 | 25 |
| Johnston | 1 | 6 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 2 | 429 |
| Layoff | 1 | 77 |
The high proportion of closures (84% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Iowa's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyson Foods | Denison | 404 | Closure | |
| Schenker | Iowa City | 77 | Layoff | |
| Sears Holdings | Mason City | 25 | Closure | |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 6 |
The biggest impact was at Tyson Foods at its Denison facility, reporting 404 affected workers. Schenker followed with 77 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
This data points to 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.