Iowa Layoffs — November 2019
Employers in Iowa posted 10 WARN Act notices in November 2019, affecting an estimated 368 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to October and down 29% versus November 2018. The average filing covered 37 workers, with 3 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3 | 265 |
| Retail | 1 | 43 |
| Agriculture | 4 | 28 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 25 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 7 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 265 workers across 3 notices. On a related front, Retail reported 43 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Wright | 1 | 185 |
| Fayette | 1 | 48 |
| Floyd | 1 | 43 |
| Palo Alto | 1 | 32 |
| Allamakee | 1 | 25 |
Wright saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 50% of all affected workers with 185 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Belmond | 1 | 185 |
| Arlington | 1 | 48 |
| Charles City | 1 | 43 |
| Emmetsburg | 1 | 32 |
| Waukon | 1 | 25 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 3 | 276 |
| Layoff | 7 | 92 |
The high proportion of closures (75% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Iowa's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eaton | Belmond | 185 | Closure | |
| Associated Milk Producers | Arlington | 48 | Closure | |
| Transform KM, LLC (Kmart) | Charles City | 43 | Closure | |
| POET DSM - Project LIBERTY | Emmetsburg | 32 | Layoff | |
| Mayo Clinic Health System - Franscican Healthcare | Waukon | 25 | Layoff | |
| MetaBank - Storm Lake Plaza | Storm Lake | 7 | Layoff | |
| MetaBank - Ingersoll Branch | Des Moines | 7 | Layoff | |
| MetaBank - Storm Lake Branch | Storm Lake | 7 | Layoff | |
| MetaBank - Highland Park Branch | Des Moines | 7 | Layoff | |
| MetaBank - Urbandale Branch | Urbandale | 7 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Eaton at its Belmond facility, reporting 185 affected workers. Associated Milk Producers followed with 48 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The trends suggest a mixed picture for Iowa's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. 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.