Iowa Layoffs — July 2023
Employers in Iowa posted 14 WARN Act notices in July 2023, affecting an estimated 667 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to June and up 198% versus July 2022. The average filing covered 48 workers, with 10 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3 | 246 |
| Transportation | 6 | 183 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 101 |
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 72 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 246 workers across 3 notices. On a related front, Transportation reported 183 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Polk | 7 | 307 |
| Buchanan | 2 | 217 |
| Woodbury | 2 | 108 |
| Pottawattamie | 1 | 30 |
| Cerro Gordo | 1 | 4 |
Polk bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 46% of all affected workers with 307 workers across 7 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Independence | 2 | 217 |
| Des Moines | 5 | 186 |
| Sioux City | 2 | 108 |
| West Des Moines | 1 | 92 |
| Council Bluffs | 1 | 30 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 10 | 530 |
| Layoff | 4 | 137 |
The high proportion of closures (79% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Iowa's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Mills Operations | Independence | 211 | Closure | |
| Countryside Health Care Center | Sioux City | 101 | Closure | |
| Yellow | West Des Moines | 92 | Closure | |
| Wells Fargo | Des Moines | 65 | Layoff | |
| Yellow | Des Moines | 49 | Closure | |
| All Trego/Dugan Aviation of Grand Island | Des Moines | 36 | Layoff | |
| Yellow | Council Bluffs | 30 | Closure | |
| WestRock | Des Moines | 29 | Closure | |
| The RightStuff | Grimes | 29 | Layoff | |
| Wells Fargo | Des Moines | 7 | Layoff | |
| Yellow | Sioux City | 7 | Closure | |
| General Mills Operations | Independence | 6 | Closure | |
| Yellow | Mason City | 4 | Closure | |
| Yellow | Cedar Rapids | 1 | Closure |
The largest notice was filed by General Mills Operations at its Independence facility, reporting 211 affected workers. Countryside Health Care Center followed with 101 workers.
Trend & Outlook
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 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.