Following its earnings announcement for the third quarter and rumors of layoffs, ag bellweather John Deere confirmed layoffs at three sites in Illinois and Iowa. The company says a struggling ag economy continues to impact orders for its equipment.
On Friday, the equipment manufacturer issued a statement detailing workforce adjustments across sites in East Moline, Ill., Moline, Ill., and Waterloo, Iowa.
Here is the full, unedited statement from John Deere:
As stated on our most recent earnings call, the struggling ag economy continues to impact orders for John Deere equipment. This is a challenging time for many farmers, growers and producers, and directly impacts our business in the near term.
As the entire ag sector navigates these challenges, John Deere continues to provide customers the high-quality equipment they deserve while strengthening the foundations of U.S. manufacturing.
We remain committed to keeping our U.S. manufacturing footprint strong, viable and competitive. We are investing nearly $20 billion over the next decade to upgrade and enhance manufacturing facilities across the country. This is on top of recent U.S. investments to open new facilities and expand/modernize others.
Due to decreased demand and lower order volumes, the following factories will be implementing workforce reductions in the coming weeks. Affected employees were informed today.
Facilities involved include:
- Harvester Works in East Moline, Ill.: 115 (last day of work Aug. 29)
- Seeding and Cylinder in Moline, Ill.: 52 (last day of work Sept. 26)
- Foundry in Waterloo, Iowa: 71 (last day of work Sept. 19)
Deere adds affected employees are eligible to be recalled to their home factory for a period equal to their length of service, and those laid off are automatically placed in seniority order for openings “they are qualified to perform at the factory.”
Laid off employees will also receive a handful of financial and health benefits that include supplemental income payments and continuing healthcare coverage for up to six months.
This follows earlier pushback from John Deere about erroneous reports that it was laying off over 800 employees in the Quad Cities, Ill., area. Illinois WARN has since issued an apology, pointing to an internal error as the culprit.
