Deere Says It Will Lay Off 910 in February

Deere on Friday said it will lay off 910 employees at plants in Iowa and Illinois beginning in February because of declining demand for its products.

Moline, Ill.-based Deere has said falling commodity prices stunted orders for its agricultural equipment. Last year, Deere laid off more than 1,000 workers throughout the Midwest.

According to a news release, Deere said it will cut a total of 565 workers at three locations in Waterloo, Iowa; 300 at the Des Moines Works in Ankeny, Iowa; and 45 employees at Harvester Works in East Moline, Ill.

In addition, Deere said about 500 employees at its seeding and cylinder facility in Moline will go on an extended inventory-adjustment shutdown, which is typical this time of year. The shutdown is expected to end in late summer.

Separately, Deere said it added 220 jobs at two construction and forestry factories in Iowa. The company said nearly all of those positions were filled by workers who were laid off from agricultural-equipment factories last year.

This article appeared in print in the January 26th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.