Deere Announces Layoffs amid Demand Declines

Deere & Company this week announced indefinite layoffs amid demand woes.

Deere officials say more than 160 U.S. workers at agriculture machinery facilities in Illinois and Iowa will be laid off, after the company last week announced it would reduce production by 20 percent.

Reuters says Deere, the world’s largest farm equipment maker, is reeling from the fallout of the U.S.-China trade war that has slowed purchases from farmers.

The layoffs include roughly 50 workers at the Harvester Works facility in East Moline, Illinois, and more than 100 workers at the Davenport Works facility in Davenport, Iowa.

Deere also lowered its income forecast to $3.2 billion in August, from the previous forecast in February set at $3.6 billion.

In an August earnings report, Deere explained market concerns forced farmers to postpone major equipment purchases.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers in its monthly equipment sales report for August reported that overall sales numbers are flat to positive for the year, but the industry “remains cautious about the overall ag economy.”

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