Deere Pauses Production, Lays Off Workers
Deere is pausing production at its Davenport and Dubuque facilities Monday and implementing further layoffs in Dubuque.
Deere will put 159 workers at Deere Dubuque Works on indefinite layoff effective June 1. That reduction is in addition to Deere laying off 105 in Dubuque in February. Those layoffs were set for April 6 but delayed until May 4.
The pause in production at Deere Davenport Works and Dubuque Works is expected to last 15 days, which calls for a May 26 return to activity. Both facilities manufacture construction and forestry products. Deere had projected a 10 to 15 percent reduction in net sales worldwide for that segment in February.
But those projections were among the financial guidance Deere scrapped in recent weeks as the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the worldwide economy.
“The temporary suspension is due to supply chain disruptions and weakened demand of construction and forestry equipment amidst the COVID-19 global health crisis,” Deere said in a statement.
“Temporary production shutdowns such as this occur regularly on an annual basis at our facilities. This is a common measure to adjust for supply and demand adjustments.”
Source: The Courier