A recent WARN notice reveals another round of job cuts in West Des Moines, Iowa. Wells Fargo plans to eliminate 25 jobs at its Jordan Creek office complex starting February 6, 2026. This move adds to ongoing reductions at the site, where the bank has already slashed hundreds of positions. The changes quietly reshape the local economy without much public attention.
These layoffs highlight Wells Fargo’s broad restructuring efforts. The Des Moines area, especially the suburbs, feels the impact deeply. Local leaders worry about the ripple effects on businesses and families that once relied on steady bank jobs.
Layoffs Pick Up Speed
Job cuts at the Jordan Creek campus in suburban Des Moines have come in steady waves since September 2025. The latest WARN filing for 25 jobs follows a clear pattern of trimming staff. Each notice arrives with little warning, showing the bank’s commitment to ongoing changes.
This acceleration stems from a push for greater efficiency across the company. Wells Fargo focuses these efforts on back-office operations, which dominate the Des Moines sites. Workers face repeated uncertainty as the reductions continue without a clear end.
Wells Fargo’s Past Dominance
For years, Wells Fargo anchored the Des Moines area’s job market. Back in 2017, the bank employed around 14,500 people in the metro region, making it the largest private employer. Growth in West Des Moines centered on these jobs, which supported schools, shops, and city budgets.
The bank’s presence drove suburban expansion. Stable salaries from Wells Fargo roles fueled local spending and tax revenues. Communities built their plans around this reliable economic engine.
Scandal Sparks Long Decline
Trouble started with the 2016 fake-accounts scandal, which brought heavy scrutiny from regulators. In 2018, the Federal Reserve slapped a $1.95 trillion asset cap on the bank, halting growth for seven years. Charlie Scharf became CEO in 2019 and inherited a workforce of 275,000 amid pressure to fix operations.
Staff cuts became central to his strategy. The bank needed to streamline processes and cut costs to meet demands. This set the stage for years of reductions.
Efficiency Push Cuts Thousands
By late 2025, efficiency stood at the heart of Wells Fargo’s plans. Since Scharf took over, the bank shed about 65,000 jobs nationwide, bringing headcount down to roughly 210,000 by September. Automation and better processes sped up the changes, hitting areas like Des Moines hard.
Back-office tasks, once a strength here, now face the biggest losses. The bank’s shift leaves local economies that depended on these roles scrambling.
Local Job Losses Mount
WARN notices since April 2022 track about 1,300 job cuts in the Des Moines metro, roughly 10% of Wells Fargo’s local workforce. The Jordan Creek campus has taken the heaviest hits, along with sales of downtown offices and moves to the suburbs. Few places have seen such sharp drops in banking jobs.
These losses strain families, stores, and city services. Bank salaries once circulated widely, supporting the area’s finances. Now, gaps appear in spending and revenues.
Tech and Rates Fuel Changes
Automation and artificial intelligence lead the transformation. These tools handle mortgage processing and customer service tasks that people once did. Generative AI has boosted efficiency by 30 to 35% in some engineering teams.
Des Moines, with its many routine banking roles, bears the brunt. Higher interest rates have also shrunk the mortgage business, wiping out hundreds of jobs tied to lending cycles.
Cap Ends but Cuts Go On
In June 2025, the Federal Reserve lifted the asset cap, signaling Wells Fargo’s reforms had worked. Yet layoffs started before this and kept coming afterward. Hy-Vee, the grocery chain, now employs over 12,000 in the metro, topping Wells Fargo’s 11,000.
Grocery jobs often pay less and offer fewer benefits. This shift lowers the region’s average wages and changes its economic makeup.
Broader Trends and Challenges Ahead
West Des Moines reflects changes in other suburban banking centers from the 1990s and 2000s. Banks now gather work in fewer spots or send it overseas, thanks to tech. Office parks that promised secure white-collar work empty out.
City leaders push tech, healthcare, and manufacturing as replacements. They highlight skilled workers and low costs, but rebuilding 1,300 lost jobs will take time, training, and incentives. As 2026 nears, Wells Fargo hints at more cuts without details.
Uncertainty lingers for workers, schools, and towns. Des Moines faces a test: Can it shift from old anchors to new strengths? Automation demands balance between company needs and community staying power.
Sources:
“Wells Fargo Expects More Job Cuts, Will Roll Out AI Gradually.” Reuters, 9 December 2025.
“Federal Reserve Lifts Wells Fargo’s $1.95T Asset Cap.” The Mortgage Point, 3 June 2025.
“Iowa Worker’s Almanac: Layoffs and News Briefs for Nov. 14, 2025.” Iowa Starting Line, 14 November 2025.
“Wells Fargo Announces 14 More Layoffs in West Des Moines.” KCCI NewsChannel 8, 2 December 2025.