Nearly 500 Iowa Layoffs Announced in February as Manufacturing Uncertainty Persists
Iowa employers reported 481 layoffs in February through filings on the state’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) system, with the largest share tied to workforce reductions at Whirlpool’s refrigerator plant in Middle Amana.
Whirlpool announced Feb. 17 that it would lay off 341 workers effective March 9, a move that drew criticism from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The union claimed the job losses were connected to production shifting to Whirlpool operations in Mexico. The Michigan-based appliance manufacturer denied the allegation, saying the layoffs are part of a modernization plan for the 85-year-old Amana facility that could ultimately support future employment.
Additional layoffs came from several other Iowa employers. Cedar Valley Corp., a Waterloo-based paving company founded in 1971, announced it will close following the retirement of longtime CEO Stephen Jackson, resulting in 89 layoffs as the firm sells its equipment to Concrete Technologies Inc. in Des Moines. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo announced 51 layoffs across two filings affecting employees at its Jordan Creek campus in West Des Moines. The bank has now cut more than 1,500 jobs across 97 layoff announcements in the Des Moines metro area since April 2022.
The February layoffs follow the previously announced closure of CNH Industrial’s Burlington manufacturing facility, where the modern backhoe was originally developed. The shutdown, scheduled to unfold through the spring, includes staged layoffs that will ultimately eliminate 118 jobs, with the largest reductions scheduled for April and May.
Taken together, the WARN filings highlight continuing volatility in Iowa’s employment landscape, particularly in manufacturing and financial services sectors that have historically provided stable middle-class employment.
Our Take
February’s layoffs arrive amid an economic narrative that has promised a resurgence in American manufacturing jobs. When tariffs were announced on what was billed as “Liberation Day” in April 2025, the argument was that trade pressure would bring production back to the United States and restore domestic manufacturing employment.
So far, the results tell a different story.
Nationally, the economy has not added net new jobs in the aggregate since the tariffs were announced, and Iowa’s WARN filings illustrate the reality on the ground: layoffs continue across sectors that once anchored the state’s industrial base.
To be clear, individual layoffs do not necessarily signal a collapsing labor market. Whirlpool insists its cuts are part of modernization, and Cedar Valley Corp.’s closure reflects a retirement rather than economic distress. But the broader pattern is difficult to ignore. Iowa has now seen layoffs tied to manufacturing restructuring, financial-sector consolidation, and industrial plant closures, trends that have persisted regardless of political promises about reshoring jobs.
For Iowans, the question is becoming increasingly practical: where will the next generation of stable middle-class jobs come from? Tariffs and political messaging may shape headlines, but local workers measure economic success in something simpler and practical, whether the jobs are there.
