John Deere announces another 345 layoffs in Waterloo

WATERLOO — Deere & Co. informed employees this week the company will lay off another 345 Waterloo workers this fall.

Employees received an email Wednesday stating: “Today, we are announcing that John Deere Waterloo Operations will lay off 345 production employees effective September 20, 2024. This layoff is indefinite and affects production workers with the least seniority at Waterloo Operations.”

The company also laid off seven employees at John Deere Coffeyville Works in Coffeyville, Kan., effective Aug. 9.

"As the largest global manufacturer of agricultural equipment, John Deere, like many others in the industry, faces significant economic challenges, including rising global operational and manufacturing costs, and reduced customer demand,“ the company said in an email to The Courier.

"These changes are being made due to reduced demand for the products produced at these facilities. As stated in our second quarter earnings call, industry sales are expected to further decline 20% from 2023 to 2024."

The company provided current employee totals for each facility:

Wednesday brought the latest in a string of layoffs the company recently announced.

On July 1, Deere confirmed 280 employees will be laid off effective Aug. 30 at a Moline, Ill., factory, along with 299 production employees at John Deere Davenport Works and 111 workers at John Deere Dubuque Works.

On June 5, Deere announced more than 120 job cuts at Seeding and Cylinder Operations in Moline. The day before, Deere announced it was eliminating 58 jobs at John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group in Urbandale, 49 jobs at John Deere Waterloo Works and 16 jobs at John Deere Des Moines Works.

In May, 34 were laid off at Cylinder Works in Moline and 190 in Waterloo. That came after it was announced in April that 308 workers at the Waterloo factory would be laid off by the end of the month.

Last fall, 225 were laid off at Harvester Works in East Moline, bringing the total of laid off workers between September and Wednesday to nearly 2,000.

In its second-quarter earnings release in May, Deere reported a more than a 15 percent decline in revenue, the third straight quarter of year-over-year sales declines. Company executives said at the time they expected further sales declines in the second half of the fiscal year and said it would continue to “take proactive steps to reduce production and inventory.”

Deere & Co. turned in a quarterly profit of $2.37 billion, down from $2.86 billion in the same period the previous year, and lowered its full-year 2024 profit forecast for a second time as farmers continued to buy fewer tractors and other equipment due to declining prices for their crops.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture anticipates that 2024 net farm income, which is a broad measure of profits, will total $116.1 billion. That’s down 25.5 percent from a year earlier. Adjusting for inflation, net farm income is expected to be down 27.1 percent this year as farmers contend with lower prices for soybeans and corn. The USDA said that lower direct government payments and increased production costs also are weighing on farmers.

The Deere layoffs come as the company is moving some operations to Mexico, including positions at Waterloo's Tractor Cab and Assembly operations. Deere pushed back on suggestions that shift is behind the layoffs.

"Despite the current reduction in customer demand, John Deere is steadfast in its commitment to U.S.-based manufacturing. The company currently employs over 30,000 people in more than 40 U.S.-based facilities across more than a dozen states," the email to The Courier stated.

Laid-off employees will receive benefits including supplemental unemployment pay, that when combined with state unemployment benefit covers about 95 percent of weekly net pay for up to 26 weeks, depending on years of service. After that runs out, transitional assistance pay covers 50 percent of average weekly earnings for up to 52 weeks. Other benefits include extended health care coverage.