Deere layoffs to affect 38 workers at Coffeyville plant

Deere & Co. said Friday it will lay off 600 manufacturing employees at four of its agricultural equipment plants in the Midwest, including 38 workers in Coffeyville.

“Deere has consistently said that to remain globally competitive, the company must align the size of its manufacturing workforce with market demand for products,” the company said in a news release. “Deere had hired several hundred manufacturing employees in recent years to meet increased demand for products manufactured in its Midwest U.S. factories.”

The company added that the layoffs are “in response to current market demand for its products.”

Weaker crop prices and expected declines in farm income are lessening demand for new equipment.

Deere spokesman Ken Golden said the layoffs in Coffeyville will be effective Aug. 25. The cuts will affect a little less than a quarter of the 185 manufacturing employees in Coffeyville, who build drive-train components for Deere equipment.

Golden said that, unlike temporary or seasonal layoffs, the company classifies the layoffs in Coffeyville as “indefinite.”

“There’s no projected recall date at this time,” Golden said.

The other plants affected by the layoffs are John Deere Harvester Works in East Moline, Ill.; John Deere Seeding and Cylinder in Moline, Ill.; and John Deere Des Moines Works in Ankeny, Iowa.

Additionally, Deere said it was implementing a seasonal shutdown affecting most of its manufacturing employees at John Deere Ottumwa Works in Ottumwa, Iowa.

This story was originally published August 15, 2014 at 9:33 AM with the headline "Deere layoffs to affect 38 workers at Coffeyville plant."