WATERLOO, Iowa (KCRG)—More than 100 John Deere workers in Waterloo were told Tuesday (Dec. 4, 2024) morning that they will be without a job after the holiday season. It comes two weeks after Deere announced a net income of seven billion dollars last year. That’s a 16% decrease from the year before. Over 1,700 John Deere employees across Iowa have been laid off since the beginning of 2024. Waterloo has taken the brunt of the layoffs. Tuesday morning 112 employees at John Deere Waterloo Works were told their last day would be January 3. This brings the total layoffs in Waterloo alone to more than 1,000.

KCRG reports that in Davenport, 80 workers will also be losing their jobs after the new year. Those layoffs were announced back in October and will take effect on January 3rd. A John Deere plant in Des Moines laid off 166 employees earlier this year and Deere in Dubuque has lost 133. The company said it has seen declining demand for its products because of challenging market conditions. It cited the USDA expecting falling commodity prices for things like corn and soybeans.

John Deere gave the following reasons for why orders are 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%).
  

The company also says its construction division is impacted by fewer new homes being built. The company said:

• 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.

Laid off employees will receive monetary and health care benefits for a period after their end date.