Iowa Layoffs — April 2026
Employers in Iowa posted 14 WARN Act notices in April 2026, affecting an estimated 535 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to March and down 73% versus April 2025. The average filing covered 38 workers, with 5 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 2 | 273 |
| Healthcare | 6 | 184 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 25 |
| Retail | 4 | 13 |
The Transportation sector saw the heaviest impact with 273 workers across 2 notices. On a related front, Healthcare reported 184 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Black Hawk | 2 | 273 |
| Polk | 3 | 104 |
| Linn | 2 | 98 |
| Fayette | 2 | 44 |
| Delaware | 1 | 5 |
Black Hawk absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 51% of all affected workers with 273 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Waterloo | 2 | 273 |
| Hiawatha | 1 | 97 |
| Des Moines | 3 | 84 |
| Oelwein | 1 | 40 |
| West Des Moines | 1 | 25 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 9 | 402 |
| Closure | 5 | 133 |
Closures accounted for 25% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryder Systems | Waterloo | 153 | Layoff | |
| First Student | Waterloo | 120 | Closure | |
| UnityPoint Health | Hiawatha | 97 | Layoff | |
| UnityPoint Health | Des Moines | 76 | Layoff | |
| Transco Rail Services | Oelwein | 40 | Layoff | |
| Wells Fargo | West Des Moines | 25 | Layoff | |
| Appliance Plus | Dyersville | 5 | Closure | |
| UnityPoint Health | Des Moines | 5 | Layoff | |
| Appliance Plus | West Union | 4 | Closure | |
| Appliance Plus | Webster City | 3 | Closure | |
| UnityPoint Health | Des Moines | 3 | Layoff | |
| UnityPoint Health | Dubuque | 2 | Layoff | |
| Appliance Plus | Waukon | 1 | Closure | |
| UnityPoint Health | Cedar Rapids | 1 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Ryder Systems at its Waterloo facility, reporting 153 affected workers. First Student followed with 120 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest a mixed picture for Iowa's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. The Transportation 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.