Employers in Iowa filed 28 WARN Act notices in February 2023, impacting roughly 800 workers — representing a notable rise over January and up 91% versus February 2022. The average filing covered 29 workers, with 14 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 12 | 340 |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 109 |
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 84 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 35 |
The Healthcare sector led the way in workforce reductions with 340 workers across 12 notices. In a parallel development, Manufacturing reported 109 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Grundy | 2 | 162 |
| Linn | 4 | 154 |
| Madison | 4 | 138 |
| Webster | 4 | 124 |
| Jackson | 2 | 106 |
Grundy was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 20% of all affected workers with 162 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Grundy Center | 2 | 162 |
| Winterset | 4 | 138 |
| Fort Dodge | 4 | 124 |
| Maquoketa | 2 | 106 |
| Cedar Rapids | 2 | 84 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 14 | 590 |
| Layoff | 6 | 210 |
The high proportion of closures (74% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Iowa's labor market.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richelieu Foods, Inc | Grundy Center | 81 | Closure | 2023-02-28 |
| Richelieu Foods, Inc | Grundy Center | 81 | Closure | 2023-02-28 |
| Timber City Wellness & Rehabilitation | Maquoketa | 53 | Closure | 2023-02-07 |
| Timber City Wellness & Rehabilitation | Maquoketa | 53 | Closure | 2023-02-07 |
| Webster Post Acute | Fort Dodge | 51 | Closure | 2023-02-07 |
| Webster Post Acute | Fort Dodge | 51 | Closure | 2023-02-07 |
| Madison Wellness & Rehabilitation | Winterset | 43 | Closure | 2023-02-07 |
| Madison Wellness & Rehabilitation | Winterset | 43 | Closure | 2023-02-07 |
| Transamerica Life Insurance Co | Cedar Rapids | 42 | Layoff | 2023-02-17 |
| Transamerica Life Insurance Co | Cedar Rapids | 42 | Layoff | 2023-02-17 |
| GoDaddy | Hiawatha | 35 | Layoff | 2023-02-09 |
| GoDaddy | Hiawatha | 35 | Layoff | 2023-02-09 |
| Humboldt Wellness and Rehabilitation | Humboldt | 30 | Closure | 2023-02-07 |
| Humboldt Wellness and Rehabilitation | Humboldt | 30 | Closure | 2023-02-07 |
| Clow Valve Company | Oskaloosa | 28 | Layoff | 2023-02-28 |
The single largest action involved Richelieu Foods, Inc at its Grundy Center facility, reporting 81 affected workers. Richelieu Foods, Inc followed with 81 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 Healthcare 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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