Deere laying off 100 factory workers

A slowdown in sales of construction and forestry equipment will lead to a layoff of 100 employees at Deere & Co. plants in Eastern Iowa.

Deere on Friday said it will idle 80 manufacturing employees at John Deere Davenport Works and 20 at the company's Dubuque plant. Both facilities are part of the company's construction and forestry division.

Deere said the indefinite layoffs will begin April 1.

The Moline, Ill.-based company said the layoffs reflect its ongoing efforts to balance the size of its manufacturing workforce with market demand for its construction and forestry products.

When Deere reported lower first-quarter earnings and sales on Feb. 19, the company said construction and forestry sales decreased 23 percent for the period, mainly due to lower shipment volumes and the unfavorable effects of currency translation. Operating profit was $70 million for the quarter compared with $146 million for the same period in 2015.

Deere forecast sales of agricultural, construction, forestry and landscaping equipment declining about 10 percent and earnings of approximately $1.3 billion in the current fiscal year.

Deere's previous guidance was for overall equipment sales to fall 7 percent and earnings to be about $1.4 billion.

Deere has laid off more than 1,500 workers at its Midwest manufacturing operations over the past year. Most have been due to a slowdown in agricultural equipment spending as farm revenues have declined.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service has forecast net farm income - a key indicator of U.S. farm well-being - at $54.8 billion in 2016, down 3 percent from last year. The 2016 forecast represents the third consecutive year of decline and would be the lowest since 2002