Employers in Iowa recorded 10 WARN Act notices in October 2019, covering approximately 532 workers — marking a sharp increase from September and down 21% versus October 2018. The average filing covered 53 workers, with 3 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 2 | 98 |
The Agriculture sector accounted for the largest share of job cuts with 98 workers across 2 notices.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Scott | 2 | 226 |
| Story | 2 | 98 |
| Jones | 2 | 94 |
| Washington | 2 | 86 |
| Polk | 2 | 28 |
Scott bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 42% of all affected workers with 226 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Davenport | 2 | 226 |
| Ames | 2 | 98 |
| Anamosa | 2 | 94 |
| Washington | 2 | 86 |
| West Des Moines | 2 | 28 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 3 | 139 |
| Layoff | 2 | 127 |
Closures accounted for 26% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Deere Davenport Works | Davenport | 113 | Layoff | 2019-10-01 |
| John Deere | Davenport | 113 | 2019-10-01 | |
| Fresh Thyme Farmers Market | Ames | 49 | Closure | 2019-10-17 |
| Fresh Thyme Farmers Market | Ames | 49 | 2019-10-17 | |
| Bennett Machine and Fabricating, Inc | Anamosa | 47 | Closure | 2019-10-11 |
| Bennett Machine and Fabricating, Inc | Anamosa | 47 | 2019-10-11 | |
| Whitesell Corporation | Washington | 43 | Closure | 2019-10-02 |
| Whitesell Corporation | Washington | 43 | 2019-10-02 | |
| MetLife | West Des Moines | 14 | Layoff | 2019-10-31 |
| MetLife | West Des Moines | 14 | 2019-10-31 |
Leading the list was John Deere Davenport Works at its Davenport facility, reporting 113 affected workers. John Deere followed with 113 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The filings reflect a mixed picture for Iowa's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. The Agriculture 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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