Iowa Layoffs — March 2024
Employers in Iowa posted 10 WARN Act notices in March 2024, affecting an estimated 1,828 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to February and up 299% versus March 2023. The average filing covered 183 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 4 | 1,638 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 76 |
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 35 |
| Wholesale Trade | 1 | 28 |
| Retail | 1 | 5 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 1,638 workers across 4 notices. On a related front, Information & Technology reported 76 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas | 2 | 1,352 |
| Black Hawk | 1 | 308 |
| Polk | 3 | 65 |
| Muscatine | 2 | 52 |
| Jefferson | 1 | 46 |
Dallas was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 74% of all affected workers with 1,352 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Perry | 2 | 1,352 |
| Waterloo | 1 | 308 |
| Fairfield | 1 | 46 |
| West Des Moines | 2 | 35 |
| Ankeny | 1 | 30 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 2 | 1,322 |
| Layoff | 7 | 493 |
The high proportion of closures (72% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Iowa's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyson Foods | Perry | 1,276 | Closure | |
| John Deere Waterloo Works | Waterloo | 308 | Layoff | |
| Pssi | Perry | 76 | Layoff | |
| Faircast | Fairfield | 46 | Closure | |
| John Deere Des Moines Works | Ankeny | 30 | Layoff | |
| Bayer CropScience | Muscatine | 28 | Layoff | |
| West Liberty Foods | West Liberty | 24 | Layoff | |
| Wells Fargo | West Des Moines | 22 | Layoff | |
| Wells Fargo | West Des Moines | 13 | ||
| Cygnus Home Services, LLC DBA Yelloh | Osceola | 5 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Tyson Foods at its Perry facility, reporting 1,276 affected workers. John Deere Waterloo Works followed with 308 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.