Another round of layoffs at John Deere is coming to Iowa.
This time, 112 workers will be laid off from the East Donald Street plant in Waterloo by Jan. 6, while another 80 will be laid off at the plant in Davenport by Jan. 3, according to Iowa’s WARN Act website.
This year alone—not counting the ones that are coming down next month—Deere and Co. has laid off 1,599 workers at plants across the state.
And Waterloo, where Deere employs thousands, has taken the brunt: 963 workers here have been laid off in 2024 alone—again, not counting those being laid off Jan. 6, which will put that number at over a thousand out of work.
“Yet another group of men and women in the Waterloo community will be forced to navigate an increasingly difficult unemployment landscape due to another round of layoffs,” said State Sen. Bill Dotzler of Waterloo. Dotzler called on the Iowa Legislature, which reconvenes next month, to improve unemployment laws to help.
Deere is citing a $3 billion drop in net income as the reason, with fewer farmers purchasing equipment due to declining farm revenues.
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