Deere & Co. is laying off 345 more workers from its Waterloo, Iowa, plant adding to the hundreds of jobs the tractor giant has cut over the past year in light of slowing equipment sales, a company spokesperson confirmed to Mekong Farmer.
The decision, which takes effect Sept. 20, is part of a widespread downsizing in the agricultural equipment industry amid plummeting demand. In addition to the cuts at Waterloo, Deere is letting go of seven employees at its Coffeyville Works factory in Kansas, effective Aug. 9, according to an email sent Friday. Transmissions, axles and other drivetrain components are manufactured there.
“These changes are being made due to reduced demand for the products produced at these facilities,” a spokesperson wrote. At this time, the company is offering unemployment pay, transitional assistance and other benefits to laid-off workers.
Including this latest round of layoffs, Deere has notified more than 1,500 employees of labor cuts over the past year at production facilities in Illinois and Iowa alone. Recently, the tractor giant has struggled with growing inventories as demand and farmer incomes decline, forcing production slowdowns and cuts to shore up its business.
Some of Deere’s largest tractors are manufactured in Waterloo, where 5,000 employees work to assemble 7, 8 and 9 Series products. Nationwide, the Illinois-based company has a workforce of about 30,000 people across 40 sites in more than a dozen states.
Looking ahead, Deere is expecting industry sales to fall up to 20% globally over last year, according to its second quarter earnings report, with demand incrementally declining throughout 2024.
Meanwhile, the company has faced backlash over plans to relocate some production from its Dubuque Works factory in Iowa to Mexico by 2026, reported the Telegraph Herald, a local newspaper.
“Despite the current reduction in customer demand, John Deere is steadfast in its commitment to U.S.-based manufacturing,” a spokesperson said in an email.