Deere & Co. will lay off 119 workers at its Ankeny plant

Deere & Co. will lay off 119 employees at its Ankeny plant in the coming weeks.

The layoffs at John Deere Des Moines Works were announced last week on the Iowa Workforce Development website as required under Iowa’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act. The website indicates nine workers will be laid off March 31, another 38 on April 7 and a final 72 on April 28.

Deere & Co. has staged a series of layoffs that have idled thousands of employees in recent months. Since a layoff announced in October 2023, Deere has let go more than 3,100 workers companywide, with more than 1,000 of those positions in the Cedar Valley area. In total, the Quad Cities-based company has cut more than 4,500 jobs in the last decade.

The company said in a statement that customer orders are down. Forecasts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicate a decrease in major row-crop cash receipts from 2024.

The Ankeny plant manufactures sprayers, grain and tillage tools, cotton pickers and cotton strippers. Deere said it employs nearly 1,500 workers at that location. About 960 employees work in production and maintenance jobs.

On Feb. 13, Deere reported drops in revenue and profit for the latest quarter. The farm equipment manufacturer said it was focused on reducing inventory amid the “uncertain market conditions” its customers were facing.

Deere reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $869 million, down from $1.75 billion a year ago. On a per-share basis, the company said it had net income of $3.19.

The company projects full-year net income to range between $5 billion and $5.5 billion.

“Deere’s performance in the first quarter highlights our continued focus on optimizing inventory levels of both new and used equipment amidst the uncertain market conditions our customers are facing,” said John C. May, chair and chief executive officer. “We’re seeing compelling evidence that our efforts are positioning the company to successfully navigate the current environment.”