Winnebago Industries announces layoffs across plants in Iowa
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
May 15, 2025 by Alexander Schmidt for KAAL-TV
(ABC 6 News) — Winnebago Industries announced on Thursday that layoffs are taking place across its Iowa plants.
Although the company did not give exact numbers, some employees say nearly 200 jobs are impacted by the layoffs.
One employee who was laid off has been working at Winnebago Industries for 27 years, and she said if she had one word to describe her emotions, it would be “hurt.” That employee also said she had been laid off twice before.
“I don’t have an option,” the employee, who wished to stay anonymous, said. “They can’t give me any answers. I ask questions they don’t know. I’m disappointed.”
Winnebago Industries said the following in a statement:
“In response to recent cyclical shifts in the RV industry including decreased customer demand, elevated inventory levels, and other business considerations, we are balancing the workforce size within the Winnebago brand’s motorhome division. With this adjustment, we had to make the difficult decision to eliminate some roles at our Iowa campuses. We are assisting affected team members during this period of transition. We remain committed to the success of our flagship Winnebago brand and continue to be invested in the Iowa community.“
The company said that the layoffs will be effective as of June 13.
As for what happens on June 14, the employee said she doesn’t have any answers.
“Good gravy, I wish I could tell you because I really don’t know. I go to unemployment. I have no medical insurance. There’s people that [have] only been there a year that are still employed,” she said.
The iconic Winnebago motor homes have been manufactured in Forest City since 1958, but 67 years later, it appears a lack of sales is creating higher inventory.
“They’re just not selling any, or they have too much inventory, and they’re still not selling them. So they’re letting those people, most of those people that work on those units, let go,” said former Winnebago Industries employee Al Stokka.
Other Iowa locations impacted are in Charles City, Waverly, and Lake Mills.
While the layoffs will impact a number of workers, some in the community don’t believe it means Winnebago will be going anywhere anytime soon.
“I think Winnebago will always be here. They may not make as many, but I think they’ll always be here,” said Gene Gulsvig, another former Winnebago Industries employee.
Iowa currently has an unemployment rate of 3.5%.
