Iowa Layoffs — October 2021
Employers in Iowa posted 5 WARN Act notices in October 2021, affecting an estimated 1,106 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to September and up 596% versus October 2020. The average filing covered 221 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 2 | 957 |
| Real Estate | 1 | 60 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 30 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 957 workers across 2 notices. On a related front, Real Estate reported 60 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Jasper | 1 | 710 |
| Scott | 1 | 247 |
| Linn | 1 | 60 |
| Emmet | 1 | 59 |
| Polk | 1 | 30 |
Jasper felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 64% of all affected workers with 710 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Newton | 1 | 710 |
| Davenport | 1 | 247 |
| Cedar Rapids | 1 | 60 |
| Estherville | 1 | 59 |
| Des Moines | 1 | 30 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 2 | 769 |
| Layoff | 1 | 60 |
The high proportion of closures (70% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Iowa's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TPI Composites | Newton | 710 | Closure | |
| Abb | Davenport | 247 | ||
| CHEP Services | Cedar Rapids | 60 | Layoff | |
| Sequel Youth Services of Forest Ridge Youth Services | Estherville | 59 | Closure | |
| Principal Life Insurance | Des Moines | 30 |
The largest notice was filed by TPI Composites at its Newton facility, reporting 710 affected workers. Abb followed with 247 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
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.