Winnebago Cuts 51 More Jobs in Iowa While Indiana's Middlebury Plant Keeps Running

According to an October 9 WARN notice, Winnebago Industries plans to cut 51 jobs at its Forest City, Iowa, specialty vehicles facility effective November 9, pushing that site's 2026 workforce reductions to 78 and bringing the company's total layoffs since 2025 (which include the closure of two Iowa plants) above 300. The company points to falling consumer demand and dealer inventory levels alongside new tariffs on Canadian and Mexican inputs like plywood, plastics and wiring. Winnebago still builds motorhomes in Forest City and towable RVs in Middlebury, Indiana, which remains untouched by this round of cuts. The layoffs land in the Specialty Vehicles division, which builds mobile clinics, bloodmobiles and bookmobiles for government and institutional buyers on multi-year contracts largely insulated from consumer RV demand, raising the question of whether Winnebago is scaling back that unit rather than just responding to a soft retail market. Competitor Thor Industries is cutting roughly 1,300 U.S. jobs of its own this fiscal year, confirming the retrenchment runs across the industry.