Nearly 200 state IT employees to be laid off

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds revealed plans to lay off nearly 200 state IT employees on August 3 as part of a transition from physical servers and data centers to a cloud-based system using Amazon Web Services. The Iowa Department of Management Division of Information Technology will shift daily operations to Cognizant Government Solutions, which will oversee the new infrastructure. The transition is expected to save the state around $525 million over the next decade while improving cybersecurity, service reliability, and operational flexibility. Kraig Paulsen, Iowa Department of Management director, stated the move will modernize the state’s technology foundation, reducing costs associated with aging systems and protecting state data more efficiently. Affected employees, totaling 192, will receive individualized job offers from Cognizant Government Solutions by late June. The state emphasized the shift aligns with a broader goal of adopting scalable services to support future public needs while maintaining sustainability. Reynolds framed the change as an investment in long-term value for Iowans, enabling faster responses to evolving demands. The transition marks a significant shift from capital-heavy infrastructure to a more adaptable, cloud-dependent model.