Deere Closes Canadian Plant

Deere & Co. said it will close manufacturing facility in Welland, Ontario, and transfer production to its operations in Wisconsin and Mexico, The Wall Street Journal reported. About 800 employees will be affected by the closure. Deere’s Welland factory makes utility vehicles and attachments for the commercial and consumer equipment and ag equipment businesses. This is part of the company’s efforts to improve efficiency and profitability.

The move is expected to result in after tax charges of about $90 million, and Deere plans to record about half of that in its fourth quarter ending Oct. 31. The amount wasn’t reflected in the company’s forecast of fourth-quarter net of $425 million that was issued last month. That forecast already was lowered from the $491 million predicted in May. Analysts’ latest mean estimate is for net of $432.2 million.