Saying it is responding to market conditions, Deere & Company says it has placed 160 employees in the Quad Cities area on indefinite layoff, including 113 workers at the company’s Davenport, Iowa plant, which manufactures construction and forestry equipment.
The Quad-City Times reports that Deere said it will put 50 workers at the company’s Harvester Works on indefinite layoff as of October 28; the Davenport Works employees will be placed on indefinite layoff November 18.
Responding to a Quad-City Times request, Ken Golden, director, global public relations at Deere, said no other Deere locations are included in the layoffs. “Despite uncertainties of current market conditions, we remain confident in our business strategy and long-term future,” Golden told the paper.
In August, Deere reported its 3Q worldwide net sales and revenues decreased by 3 percent. At the time, Sam Allen, chairman and CEO, said the results “reflected the high degree of uncertainty that continues to overshadow the agricultural sector.” Continuing, he added: “At the same time, general economic conditions remain positive and are contributing to strong results for Deere’s construction and forestry business.”
At the time, Deere said it expected company equipment sales to increase about 4 percent for the full fiscal year compared with 2018. “Included in the forecast are Wirtgen results for the full fiscal year of 2019 compared with 10 months of the prior year,” said the report. “This adds about 1 percent to the company’s net sales forecast for the current year.”