Deere – To cut more than 900 jobs

Deere & Co (DE.N), the world’s largest maker of farm equipment, will lay off more than 900 employees at plants in Iowa and Illinois in the latest round of job cuts spurred by a decline in grain prices that is hurting demand for agricultural machinery. 

The layoffs, which represent about 3 percent of Deere’s workforce in the United States and Canada, are set to begin early next month, the company said in a statement.

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 the statement.

Iowa will be hit hardest by the reductions, with about 565 workers in Waterloo and 300 others in Ankeny slated to lose their jobs. In East Moline, Ill., about 45 employees will be laid off, the company said.

Also, Deere will furlough about 500 employees at a Moline, Ill., facility as part of an “extended inventory adjustment shutdown” expected to end in late summer, according to the statement.

Deere had about 59,600 full-time employees as of Oct. 31, including approximately 29,000 employees in the United States and Canada.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Deere to cut more than 900 U.S. workers as farm economy weakens | Reuters.