WATERLOO, Iowa — Almost 200 John Deere production employees in Waterloo are going to be without jobs by the end of next month. A company spokesperson confirmed with News 8 Tuesday that 192 employees will be placed on an indefinite layoff effective June 21.
It comes after 308 workers were just laid off in late April at the same John Deere Waterloo Works location on East Donald Street. Altogether, 500 employees have now been laid off at the Waterloo facility since April. In addition, John Deere recently laid off 150 employees at its Ankeny plant and 34 workers at John Deere Cylinder Works in Moline, Illinois.
Employees were notified about the layoffs on May 20, according to Iowa Workforce Development's WARN Notifications page. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers with over 100 employees to give notice of layoffs at least 60 days in advance. John Deere said factory leadership informed employees during meetings about the layoffs.
"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," the John Deere spokesperson told News 8. They did not provide any additional reasons for the layoffs.
Currently, 5,200 employees work at the Waterloo facility with about 3,300 of them working in production and maintenance jobs, according to John Deere
The city of Waterloo, known for its diverse population, entrepreneurial attitude and tech campus, has over 70,000 residents, according to the city's website.
Though not the city's largest employer, John Deere is recognized as one of the major brands operating out of Waterloo, which includes other names like Tyson Foods, ConAgra Grocer Products, Ryder Integrated Logistics, Bertch Cabinets and Omega – MasterBrand Cabinets.
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