Employers in Iowa posted 18 WARN Act notices in July 2023, affecting an estimated 1,236 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to June and up 113% versus July 2022. The average filing covered 69 workers, with 8 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 3 | 303 |
| Manufacturing | 3 | 246 |
| Transportation | 1 | 36 |
| Retail | 1 | 29 |
The Healthcare sector saw the heaviest impact with 303 workers across 3 notices. On a related front, Manufacturing reported 246 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Buchanan | 6 | 651 |
| Woodbury | 3 | 303 |
| Polk | 9 | 282 |
Buchanan was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 53% of all affected workers with 651 workers across 6 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Independence | 6 | 651 |
| Sioux City | 3 | 303 |
| Des Moines | 6 | 195 |
| Grimes | 3 | 87 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 8 | 694 |
| Layoff | 4 | 130 |
The high proportion of closures (56% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Iowa's labor market.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Mills Operations, LLC | Independence | 211 | Closure | 2023-07-31 |
| General Mills Operations, LLC | Independence | 211 | Closure | 2023-07-31 |
| General Mills | Independence | 211 | 2023-07-31 | |
| Countryside Health Care Center | Sioux City | 101 | Closure | 2023-07-05 |
| Countryside Health Care Center | Sioux City | 101 | Closure | 2023-07-05 |
| Countryside Health Care Center | Sioux City | 101 | 2023-07-05 | |
| All Trego/Dugan Aviation of Grand Island, Inc | Des Moines | 36 | Layoff | 2023-07-06 |
| All Trego/Dugan Aviation of Grand Island, Inc | Des Moines | 36 | Layoff | 2023-07-06 |
| All Trego/Dugan Aviation of Grand Island, Inc | Des Moines | 36 | 2023-07-06 | |
| WestRock Company | Des Moines | 29 | Closure | 2023-07-13 |
| WestRock Company | Des Moines | 29 | Closure | 2023-07-13 |
| WestRock | Des Moines | 29 | 2023-07-13 | |
| The RightStuff, Inc | Grimes | 29 | 2023-07-26 | |
| The RightStuff, Inc | Grimes | 29 | Layoff | 2023-07-30 |
| The RightStuff, Inc | Grimes | 29 | Layoff | 2023-07-30 |
The largest notice was filed by General Mills Operations, LLC at its Independence facility, reporting 211 affected workers. General Mills Operations, LLC followed with 211 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest 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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