Deere Announces Additional Layoffs

Deere & Co. announced it will lay off approximately 460 employees at the company’s Waterloo, IA, reported AgriMarketing.com. This pushes Deere’s job cuts in Iowa to 1,000 when combined with layoffs announced earlier for plants in the Des Moines and the Quad Cities areas.

When Deere announced third quarter earnings on Aug. 13, the company said it needed to reduce agricultural equipment production for the balance of the year to respond to “current market demand for its products.”

Iowa’s governor, Terry Branstad, blames EPA’s proposed Renewable Fuels Standard and the uncertainty it causes for the Deere layoffs.

“They’ve done real damage to the farm economy and now to jobs at John Deere and farm machinery manufacturing as well,” Branstad said. S