The Revel camping van manufactured by Winnebago Industries in Lake Mills is one of eight products left in the Coolest Thing Made in Iowa contest.
After closing two plants and laying off more than 300 workers since 2025, Winnebago Industries announced it will continue workforce cuts in November.
The iconic Iowa company will lay off 51 employees from its specialty vehicles operation in Forest City, effective Nov. 9., it announced Oct. 9 on Iowa's Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, website. Winnebago cited decreased consumer demand and dealer inventory levels as necessitating the move.
The latest culling brings the company's 2026 total at the plant to 78. An August layoff coincided with the company's announcement of manufacturing consolidation in Indiana and Iowa as it sought to "align operations with market demand," according to an Aug. 13 news release.
The manufacturer now produces Winnebago motorhomes — including the class B camper vans that were previously made in Lake Mills — in Forest City, and towable RVs in Middlebury, Indiana.
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Less than two weeks after the manufacturer announced its restructuring plans, it faced headwinds in the form of a brewing trade war with Canada.
RV industry site Camper Report wrote that the tariffs between the U.S. and Canada, which exploded in late August, will raise prices throughout the cross-border supply chain for new RVs. The site reported that tariffs on RV manufacturing inputs like plywood, plastics, and wiring would increase overall manufacturing expenses.
In 2025, Winnebago laid off 311 Iowa workers as it closed plants in Charles City and Waverly. The number of employees affected by the announced Lake Mills closure has not yet been reported.
"We had to make the very difficult decision to eliminate a limited number of roles across several departments," the manufacturer said in a statement. "Winnebago is assisting affected team members during this period of transition."
Winnebago moved its corporate headquarters from Forest City to the Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie in 2021 but retains most of its RV manufacturing in northern Iowa, employing about 2,000 workers.
The RV maker underwhelmed Wall Street projections in its third-quarter earnings report in June and will share its fourth-quarter performance Oct. 21.
Israel Schuman covers retailing and jobs for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at ieschuman@registermedia.com.
