Employers in Iowa posted 27 WARN Act notices in May 2016, affecting an estimated 525 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to April and up 152% versus May 2015. The average filing covered 19 workers, with 5 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 4 | 61 |
| Education | 2 | 30 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 61 workers across 4 notices. On a related front, Education reported 30 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Polk | 6 | 145 |
| Story | 1 | 87 |
| Delaware | 1 | 81 |
| Allamakee | 1 | 64 |
| Washington | 2 | 61 |
Polk bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 28% of all affected workers with 145 workers across 6 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Ames | 1 | 87 |
| West Des Moines | 1 | 86 |
| Dyersville | 1 | 81 |
| Lansing | 1 | 64 |
| Washington | 2 | 61 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 5 | 330 |
| Layoff | 4 | 159 |
The high proportion of closures (63% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Iowa's labor market.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Link Genetics | Ames | 87 | Layoff | 2016-05-25 |
| The Fresh Market | West Des Moines | 86 | Closure | 2016-05-04 |
| All American Homes | Dyersville | 81 | Closure | 2016-05-03 |
| Blumenthal Lansing | Lansing | 64 | Closure | 2016-05-17 |
| Modine Manufacturing | Washington | 60 | Closure | 2016-05-13 |
| John Deere Davenport Works | Davenport | 56 | Layoff | 2016-05-06 |
| Sears Holdings Company | Des Moines | 39 | Closure | 2016-05-02 |
| BridgePoint Ashford University | Clinton | 30 | 2016-05-31 | |
| Packers Sanitation Services Inc - PSSI | Des Moines | 15 | Layoff | 2016-05-07 |
| Sears Holdings Company | Des Moines | 3 | 2016-05-02 | |
| Rockwell Collins | Cedar Rapids | 1 | Layoff | 2016-05-02 |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 1 | 2016-05-10 | |
| Modine Manufacturing | Washington | 1 | 2016-05-23 | |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 1 | 2016-05-25 | |
| Sears | Purchase dataset for city details | N/A | 2016-05-02 |
The largest notice was filed by New Link Genetics at its Ames facility, reporting 87 affected workers. The Fresh Market followed with 86 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest 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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