Employers in Iowa filed 9 WARN Act notices in April 2021, impacting roughly 1,014 workers — representing a notable rise over March and up 90% versus April 2020. The average filing covered 113 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | 3 | 141 |
The Utilities sector led the way in workforce reductions with 141 workers across 3 notices.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Des Moines | 5 | 685 |
| Des Monies | 1 | 188 |
| Linn | 3 | 141 |
Des Moines saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 68% of all affected workers with 685 workers across 5 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| West Burlington | 6 | 873 |
| Palo | 3 | 141 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 2 | 94 |
Closures accounted for 9% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABB Inc | West Burlington | 188 | 2021-04-26 | |
| ABB Inc | West Burlington | 188 | 2021-04-26 | |
| ABB Inc | West Burlington | 188 | 2021-04-26 | |
| ABB Inc | West Burlington | 103 | 2021-04-05 | |
| ABB Inc | West Burlington | 103 | 2021-04-05 | |
| ABB Inc | West Burlington | 103 | 2021-04-05 | |
| Duane Arnold Energy Center | Palo | 47 | Closure | 2021-04-30 |
| Duane Arnold Energy Center | Palo | 47 | Closure | 2021-04-30 |
| Duane Arnold Energy Center | Palo | 47 | 2021-04-30 |
The single largest action involved ABB Inc at its West Burlington facility, reporting 188 affected workers. ABB Inc followed with 188 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The data underscores mounting pressure on the Iowa labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Utilities 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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