CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — Deere & Co. will lay off more than 900 employees in the latest round of job cuts spurred by a decline in grain prices that is hurting demand for agricultural machinery.
The layoffs at plants in Iowa and Illinois, which represent three percent of the company’s workforce in the United States and Canada, are set to begin early next month.
The cuts at facilities that build agricultural equipment reflect Deere’s attempt “to align the size of its manufacturing workforce to market demand for products,” according to a company statement.
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Iowa will be hit hardest by the reductions, with 565 workers in Waterloo and 300 others in Ankeny slated to lose their jobs.
Forty-five employees will also be laid off in East Moline, Ill.
As well, Deere will temporarily lay off 500 employees at a Moline, Ill., facility as part of an “extended inventory adjustment shutdown” expected to end in late summer.
Deere had 59,600 full-time employees as of Oct. 31, including 29,000 employees in the U.S. and Canada.
The cutbacks come after Deere said in August it would indefinitely lay off more than 600 employees at plants in Illinois, Iowa and Kansas.
In November, the company said it expected equipment sales to fall further as lower grain prices discourage farmers from buying tractors, harvesters and other machinery.
Sales have suffered because bumper U.S. corn and soy harvests have driven down crop prices, leaving farmers with less cash to spend on equipment. Corn prices fell six percent last year, on top of a decline of nearly 40 percent in 2013.
“Basically, anyone who’s grown accustomed to having their business heavily supported by the farmer, there is going to be a slowdown,” said Angie Maguire, vice-president of grain for Citizens Elevator in Michigan.
