John Deere Announces New Layoffs: Iowa Employees Brace for Impact

One of the biggest employers in the Midwest announced yet another round of layoffs.

John Deere is a huge player in the agricultural industry and has multiple facilities and factories spread out across the country, several of them being in Iowa.

The company's headquarters is in Moline, Illinois; and has already had hundreds of layoffs within the organization over the course of this year.

Now, there's news of another round of layoffs hitting John Deere workers.

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More Layoffs in July for John Deere

According to reports, in an email sent to all John Deere salaried employees, additional workforce reductions are imminent.

The message from higher ups said that there will be an employee meeting on July 24th at 7:30 AM.

Following this meeting, corporate will notify all employees who will be leaving the company during this round of layoffs.

In this email, officials are asking salaried employees who are not required to work onsite to work from home on July 24th through the 26th.

They were also encouraged to postpone any business travel.

Company officials gave the following explanation for the upcoming layoffs;

"Despite our efforts to contain costs and optimize production and inventory levels, the strategies we have implemented – including a global hiring freeze – have proven insufficient in addressing the challenges posed by declining customer demand, rising costs, and prevailing economic uncertainties crucial for ensuring the long-term health of our business."

There is no word on how many of these layoffs will be affecting employees in Eastern, Iowa. However, once this news is made public, we will make sure to share any and all information we might find.

John Deere's 2024 Layoffs

In the email, John Deere Waterloo officials confirmed that 345 employees would be laid off indefinitely, effective September 20th, 2024.

Reports confirm that this next round of layoffs will affect "production workers with the least seniority at Waterloo Operations."

John Deere Waterloo's Year of Layoffs

At the beginning of 2024, the Midwest manufacturing giant employed approximately 5,500 people in their Waterloo location, according to reports. 

On April 29th, 2024, that number shrunk significantly.

Waterloo happens to be the largest of the company's tractor production factories.

308 production employees at the plant were placed on "indefinite layoff."

"Each John Deere factory balances the size of its production workforce with the needs of the individual factory to optimize the workforce at each facility," officials said in a statement.

Several months later, 190 employees were placed on "indefinite layoff" effective on June 22nd.

Before this year is done, John Deere Waterloo officials will have laid off approximately 843 employees. There is no word if this will be the last round of layoffs that the plant will see this year.

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