John Deere will lay off more than 120 production workers from its John Deere Seeding and Cylinder Works in Moline, according to a statement from company officials on Wednesday, June 5.
“John Deere informed members of the workforce at its Seeding and Cylinder operations in Moline on Wednesday, June 5, that over 120 production employees will be placed on indefinite layoff effective June 28. Employees were told of the layoffs by factory leadership in meetings,” according to a statement from John Deere officials provided to the QCBJ.
The statement adds: “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. John Deere Seeding and Cylinder currently have about 890 total employees with about 690 of them working in production and maintenance jobs.”
UAW Local 434 – the union representing many of the workers at the Moline facility – declined to comment on the layoffs. A union official, who did not want to be identified, told the QCBJ that the situation “was still up in the air” and union representatives did not want to make a formal statement on the situation at this time.
Multiple media sources also have been reporting that John Deere leaders recently sent an email to salaried employees warning of plans to layoff global production and management workforce in the next few months.
This is the latest round of layoffs announced by the agricultural equipment company. In early May, John Deere informed members of the workforce at its cylinder operations in Moline that 34 production employees would be placed on indefinite layoff effective May 31. Also in March, the company laid off 308 employees at its Waterloo (Iowa) Works and 150 employees at its Des Moines Works facility in Ankeny, Iowa.
Additional layoffs also are impending at three Iowa plants, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications (WARN) filed recently with Iowa Workforce. Layoffs are anticipated at these plants as of Thursday, June 6: John Deere Des Moines Works in Ankeny, 16 layoffs; John Deere Intelligence Solutions, Urbandale, 58; and John Deere Waterloo Works, 49.
Under the WARN Act, employers with 100 or more employees are required to give a 60 calendar day written notice when there is a plant closing or mass layoff, according to Iowa Workforce’s website.
The impending June layoffs are in addition to 60 layoffs previously reported through the WARN process to Iowa Workforce. The WARN notices show 30 layoffs on May 6 and another 30 layoffs on May 20 were expected – all at Des Moines Works.
In a statement, Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart recently said this about the layoffs in that community: “It’s unfortunate to learn about even more layoffs happening at John Deere. For the people and families impacted, our heart goes out to them during this challenging time. We have been in contact with One Cedar Valley, a local agency supporting employees through this transition by offering career and support services.”
