WATERLOO, Iowa — More than 100 workers are being laid off from John Deere Waterloo Works.
According to a notice posted on the Iowa WARN Act website on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 112 employees will be laid off from the facility, effective Jan. 5, 2025.
Since May, the company has now announced layoffs impacting more than 1,900 workers at its production facilities and headquarters. That number includes the layoffs announced Tuesday.
News 8 reached out to Deere officials for comment on the layoffs. You can read their statement in full below:
As was recently stated in our fourth quarter earnings report, challenging market conditions continue to result in reduced demand for our equipment. To remain globally competitive, we must continue making workforce adjustments as needed to our manufacturing footprint. Today, we’ve informed employees at our Waterloo Operations that approximately 110 production employees will be placed on indefinite layoff effective Jan. 3.
Why are orders down?
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts major row-crop cash receipts to be down another 18% in 2024, following a 5% decline last year.
- The USDA also forecasts marketing year average prices for the new crop (crops harvested this fall) to continue to decline from last year and to be down over 30% compared to a couple of years ago (compared to 2022: corn -37%, soybeans -24%, and wheat -35%).
- In the construction industry, compared to its peak in 2021, single-family home sales are down 30%, single-family housing starts are down 10%, and multi-family housing starts are down 40%.
- Despite some interest rate reductions, the current interest rate level is still elevated compared to recent history.
Additional information:
Current employee totals for each facility:
- John Deere Waterloo Operations currently has 4,700 total employees with about 2,700 working in production and maintenance jobs.
- Employees are eligible to be recalled to their home factory for a period equal to their length of service. Those laid off are automatically placed in seniority order for openings they are qualified to perform at the factory.
- Laid-off employees will receive the following monetary benefits:
- Supplemental Unemployment (SUB) pay, which covers about 95% of their weekly net pay for up to 26 weeks, depending on their years of service.
- Transitional Assistance (TAB) pay, which covers 50% of their average weekly earnings for up to 52 weeks, after SUB pay runs out.
- Profit Sharing, which is calculated based on their hours worked, average earnings, and the company's profit margin, if they have at least one year of service by the end of the plan year.
- Healthcare benefits that employees can receive during a layoff include:
- Employees can keep their healthcare coverage for at least six months, or as long as they are eligible for SUB pay, whichever is longer. After that, they can extend their coverage for another 12 months, but they have to pay the full premiums themselves.
- Weekly Indemnity: Employees who become disabled while on layoff can get WI benefits for the same duration as their SUB pay, up to 26 weeks, if they meet the requirements.
- Employee Assistance Program: Employees and their household members can access EAP services for the duration of their recall rights. EAP provides up to eight sessions of in-person or virtual therapy per year.
Other benefits laid-off employees may receive include:
- Life insurance, legal assistance, tuition reimbursement and job-placement assistance.