DES MOINES, IOWA (March 22, 2024) — Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) plans to deploy the IowaWORKS Mobile Workforce Center to Perry early next week to begin the next phase of support for workers impacted by the impending closure of the Tyson Foods plant.
The Mobile Workforce Center will be stationed at Tyson Foods in Perry on Monday and Tuesday of next week (March 25-26), 11AM-4PM, each day. Career-planners will be on hand to help answer initial questions and prepare workers for the next steps, which include critical services that will guide them through the lay-off process and into reemployment.
The IowaWORKS Rapid Response Team has been engaged with Tyson Foods and local community leaders since the lay-off was announced. Since that time, the agency has been working to gather critical information, assess worker needs, and put the infrastructure in place to support services in the weeks ahead.Rapid response services will take place across several weeks to help ensure workers are successful during every part of the process, including filing for unemployment at the appropriate time and registering with IowaWORKS to receive career-planning services. (Workers are not advised to file for unemployment if they are still working full-time, as complications can arise or delays in payment can occur).
Details are still pending, but IWD also is developing plans for the following Perry-related activities in the weeks ahead:
- Launching a temporary IowaWORKS location at Tyson Foods to serve as a transition center supporting the high number of impacted workers.
- Services will be provided in multiple languages in accordance with the needs of the impacted workforce in Perry.
- Holding formal Worker Information Meetings to help provide workers with a comprehensive overview of all rapid response services.
- Hosting job fair events with employers interested in hiring impacted workers (to date, agency staff has already connected with over forty interested employers).
- Employers with questions about planned hiring events can reach out directly to Chad Pierce (Business Engagement Division) at Chad.Pierce@iwd.iowa.gov.
“Responding to evolving situations like these is exactly the reason why we’ve deployed the Mobile Workforce Center to reach workers more quickly and directly,” said Beth Townsend, Executive Director of Iowa Workforce Development. “While this is just the initial phase of services for this June lay-off, we are committed to supporting every impacted worker through the process to ultimately help them find a new career in the state. It’s important that we not only provide wide-ranging support in these situations, but also take the time to identify the specific needs of the impacted workers in Perry.”
Information about the Mobile Workforce Center and its capabilities can be found on the IWD website: workforce.iowa.gov/mobile-center. The full list of available rapid response services for workers facing layoffs can be found at this link: workforce.iowa.gov/rapid-response.
