Employers in Iowa reported 8 WARN Act notices in December 2015, displacing an estimated 315 workers — signaling an acceleration from November and up 14% versus December 2014. The average filing covered 39 workers, with 1 closure among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 2 | 182 |
The Manufacturing sector topped the list of affected industries with 182 workers across 2 notices.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Lee | 1 | 182 |
| Cedar | 1 | 71 |
| Polk | 4 | 62 |
Lee was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 58% of all affected workers with 182 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Keokuk | 1 | 182 |
| West Branch | 1 | 71 |
| Johnston | 4 | 62 |
| Purchase dataset for city details | 2 | 0 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 1 | 182 |
| Layoff | 2 | 31 |
The high proportion of closures (58% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Iowa's labor market.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keokuk Steel Castings | Keokuk | 182 | Closure | 2015-12-09 |
| Schenker, Inc | West Branch | 71 | 2015-12-08 | |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 30 | Layoff | 2015-12-23 |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 30 | 2015-12-23 | |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 1 | Layoff | 2015-12-23 |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 1 | 2015-12-23 | |
| Schenker | Purchase dataset for city details | N/A | 2015-12-08 | |
| Keokuk Steel Castings | Purchase dataset for city details | N/A | 2015-12-09 |
The most significant filing came from Keokuk Steel Castings at its Keokuk facility, reporting 182 affected workers. Schenker, Inc followed with 71 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The numbers illustrate 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.
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