Employers in Iowa logged 46 WARN Act notices in May 2023, involving roughly 1,741 workers — climbing above April and up 25% versus May 2022. The average filing covered 38 workers, with 4 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 4 | 262 |
| Finance & Insurance | 4 | 139 |
| Professional Services | 1 | 106 |
| Education | 8 | 70 |
| Healthcare | 6 | 64 |
| Mining & Energy | 1 | 49 |
| Information & Technology | 2 | 38 |
The Manufacturing sector dominated layoff filings with 262 workers across 4 notices. Meanwhile, Finance & Insurance reported 139 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Des Moines | 4 | 465 |
| Johnson | 3 | 318 |
| Woodbury | 3 | 276 |
| Polk | 6 | 193 |
| Tama | 2 | 170 |
Des Moines bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 27% of all affected workers with 465 workers across 4 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| West Burlington | 2 | 427 |
| Iowa City | 3 | 318 |
| Sioux CIty | 2 | 184 |
| Tama | 2 | 170 |
| Des Moines | 3 | 114 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 22 | 582 |
| Closure | 4 | 354 |
Closures accounted for 20% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABB Inc | West Burlington | 239 | 2023-05-22 | |
| ABB Inc | West Burlington | 188 | 2023-05-22 | |
| ACT, Inc | Iowa City | 106 | Layoff | 2023-05-17 |
| ACT, Inc | Iowa City | 106 | Layoff | 2023-05-17 |
| ACT, Inc | Iowa City | 106 | 2023-05-17 | |
| Global Foods Processing Inc | Sioux City | 92 | Closure | 2023-05-30 |
| Global Foods Processing Inc | Sioux CIty | 92 | Closure | 2023-05-30 |
| Global Foods Processing Inc | Sioux CIty | 92 | 2023-05-30 | |
| Graphic Packaging International, LLC | Tama | 85 | Closure | 2023-05-02 |
| Graphic Packaging International, LLC | Tama | 85 | Closure | 2023-05-02 |
| Linwood Mining and Minerals | Davenport | 49 | 2023-05-22 | |
| Global Atlantic Financial Company | Des Moines | 38 | Layoff | 2023-05-30 |
| Global Atlantic Financial Company | Des Moines | 38 | Layoff | 2023-05-30 |
| Global Atlantic Financial Company | Des Moines | 38 | 2023-05-30 | |
| Pearson | Cedar Rapids | 37 | Layoff | 2023-05-01 |
The biggest impact was at ABB Inc at its West Burlington facility, reporting 239 affected workers. ABB Inc followed with 188 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
This data points to 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.
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