Iowa Layoffs 2026: WARN Numbers Explained

Iowa's 2026 layoff picture is quieter than the national headline states, but the filings still tell a story. The state's imported WARN archive holds 787 non-cancelled notices reporting 49,077 affected workers across its full history. For 2026 specifically: 92 notices covering 3,397 workers so far, with 12 notices still carrying future effective dates.

How 2026 compares to recent years

Put next to the last few years, 2026 sits below the peak but ahead of the quietest years:

• 2024: 121 notices · 6,888 workers
• 2025: 153 notices · 6,350 workers
• 2023: 91 notices · 3,497 workers
• 2022: 98 notices · 4,350 workers
• 2026 (so far): 92 notices · 3,397 workers

So the number of filings this year roughly matches 2023, and the worker count sits in the same band. 2024 and 2025 were heavier years for Iowa by both measures. Within the last 365 days, the archive contains 115 eligible official filings reporting 4,377 affected workers, with the newest official notice dated September 30, 2026.

An important caveat runs under all of this: WARN filings are reported plans, not confirmed job losses. A notice announces an employer's stated intent under the law; plans can change, workers can be recalled, and a filing can be amended or cancelled. The numbers describe notices, not unique people or completed layoffs.

The largest Iowa filings of 2026

Healthcare and manufacturing dominate Iowa's 2026 filings:

• UnityPoint Health, West Des Moines — 229 workers, a layoff effective February 28, 2027, filed July 28, 2026. This is the single largest Iowa filing of the year, and one of the furthest-dated effective dates on the state ledger.
• RTX, Cedar Rapids — 107 workers, effective September 20, 2026, filed August 31. Two smaller amended RTX filings for one worker each round out the company's Cedar Rapids notices.
• Carry On Trailer, Missouri Valley — 79 workers, a closure effective November 29, 2026, filed September 30. The largest single closure filing in Iowa's 2026 data.
• Winnebago Industries, Forest City — 67 workers, a layoff effective March 26, 2027, filed August 31, plus a second filing of 27 workers effective November 30, 2026.
• People First Sanitation, Sioux City — 54 workers, a layoff effective September 25, 2026.
• Verschoor Meats, Sioux City — 50 workers, a closure effective August 21, 2026.
• Wells Fargo, West Des Moines — a steady drip of smaller amended filings (47, 35, 20, 14, 10, 7, 5 workers), stretching effective dates from October 2026 into January 2027.
• UnityPoint Health, Dubuque — 45 workers, a layoff effective May 20, 2026.

The list also includes smaller closures — Independence Premium Foods (41 and 5 workers), NFI Interactive Logistics in Cedar Rapids (49, closure), Lund Foods Holdings in Lake Mills (23, closure), and River Hills Community Center in Centerville and Richland (19 and 5, closures) — a reminder that WARN notices capture small employers too, not just marquee names.

What's still ahead

Twelve Iowa notices have future effective dates, which means the state's remaining 2026 impact is still unfolding. The heaviest individual dates cluster in November 2026 — including the Carry On Trailer closure (November 29) and several Wells Fargo filings — with the two biggest events, UnityPoint Health (229 workers) and Winnebago Industries (67 workers), landing in February and March 2027 respectively.

How Iowa fits the national picture

Nationally, the registry currently shows 738 notices covering 68,093 reported workers in the 90-day window, with the heaviest upcoming week being November 15 (7,644 workers). The top states by affected workers are Washington (16,776), California (16,011), Illinois (4,772), Texas (3,842), and Ohio (3,224). Iowa doesn't crack the national top five — but its 2026 filings show the same pattern visible elsewhere: a mix of large single-event layoffs, plant closures, and employers like Wells Fargo filing in small increments as plans get revised.

Reading Iowa's filings with the right expectations

A few things worth knowing about the data itself. Iowa's archive blends direct government records with attributed secondary reports, and worker counts reflect what employers reported at filing — not what ultimately happened. Filings can be amended (as several of Iowa's Wells Fargo and RTX entries were) and worker counts can be unavailable for individual notices. WARN coverage is also not a census of layoffs: small layoffs that don't trigger the federal thresholds never appear, so the absence of filings in a sector is not proof of zero job losses.

For Iowans watching their own employer's filings, the notice date tells you when the warning went out and the effective date tells you when the employer expects the action to begin. Between the two is the window to check eligibility for unemployment insurance, health coverage options, and retraining programs through Iowa Workforce Development.

Data source: Layoff Atlas