Iowa Layoffs — February 2018
Employers in Iowa recorded 4 WARN Act notices in February 2018, covering approximately 959 workers — marking a sharp increase from January and up 805% versus February 2017. The average filing covered 240 workers, with 1 closure among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Finance & Insurance | 3 | 956 |
| Manufacturing | 1 | 3 |
The Finance & Insurance sector accounted for the largest share of job cuts with 956 workers across 3 notices. At the same time, Manufacturing reported 3 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Linn | 2 | 902 |
| Polk | 2 | 57 |
Linn bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 94% of all affected workers with 902 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Cedar Rapids | 2 | 902 |
| Des Moines | 1 | 54 |
| Johnston | 1 | 3 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 2 | 917 |
| Closure | 1 | 39 |
Closures accounted for 4% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transamerica Life Ins | Cedar Rapids | 863 | Layoff | |
| Nationwide- Mortgage Division | Des Moines | 54 | Layoff | |
| Goldman Sachs Bank USA | Cedar Rapids | 39 | Closure | |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred International | Johnston | 3 |
Leading the list was Transamerica Life Ins at its Cedar Rapids facility, reporting 863 affected workers. Nationwide- Mortgage Division followed with 54 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The filings reflect 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.