This morning, June 5, 120 John Deere Moline Cylinder Works workers were informed that this month would be their last at John Deere.
The news comes after multiple layoff notices at operation plants in Iowa, including Ankeny, Urbandale, and Waterloo, totaling 243 layoffs this week.
Tomorrow is the last day for 123 Iowa employees at Des Moines Works, Waterloo Works, and Intelligent Services Solutions.
Last month, Deere announced 192 layoffs at its Waterloo Works location, with workers' last day being June 21.
Job losses may continue as Deere eyes a new factory location in Ramos, Mexico, to produce its mid-frame skid steer loaders and compact track loaders, affecting workers at its Dubuque Works location. The company estimates the factory to be operational in 2026.
UAW Hall in East Moline reached out via phone on Thursday saying they have no comment, and Moline Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati has yet to return our call.
In an email Thursday, Governor Reynolds says, “I’m in touch with John Deere about the layoffs. John Deere has always been an important employer and iconic brand in Iowa, and we remain committed to their business in our state.”
A breakdown of current job layoffs at John Deere this year:
John Deere Moline Cylinder Works - 120 employees - last day June 28.
John Deere Waterloo Works - 192 employees - last day June 21.
John Deere Des Moines Works - 16 employees - last day June 6.
John Deere Intelligent Services Solutions - 58 employees - last day June 6.
John Deere Waterloo Works - 49 employees - last day June 6.
John Deere Des Moines Works - 30 employees - last day May 20.
John Deere Des Moines Works - 30 employees - last day May 6.
John Deere Des Moines Works - 30 employees - last day April 29.
John Deere Waterloo Works - 308 employees - last day April 26.
John Deere Des Moines Works - 30 employees - last day April 15.
John Deere Des Moines Works - 30 employees - Last day April 8.
Below is John Deere's statement on the Moline layoffs and a separate statement on its factory relocation to Mexico, both sent over email. They declined to answer any of WVIK's questions.
John Deere Seeding
"John Deere informed members of the workforce at its Seeding and Cylinder operations in Moline, Illinois, on Wednesday, June 5, that over 120 production employees will be placed on indefinite layoff effective June 28. Employees were told of the layoffs by factory leadership in meetings.
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. John Deere Seeding and Cylinder currently have about 890 total employees with about 690 of them working in production and maintenance jobs."
Dubuque Works
"Friday’s announcement at Dubuque Works reflects John Deere’s commitment to evolving its business model, products, and processes to address rising manufacturing costs and improve operational efficiencies. This includes optimizing our factories for future products, making our operations more efficient, and taking advantage of locations in the U.S. and globally, with a growing labor force.
To that end, John Deere is in the process of acquiring land in Ramos, Mexico to build a new facility. When the facility is operational in 2026, production of mid-frame skid steer loaders and compact track loaders will be relocated from Dubuque Works to Ramos.
This move adds manufacturing flexibility for John Deere’s Construction & Forestry business by establishing a new, globally competitive manufacturing operation. Deere expects to begin ramping down production of the mid-frame skid steer loaders and compact track loaders in Dubuque in early 2026 and complete the transition to Ramos by the end of 2026.
Dubuque Works will continue to manufacture large-frame skid steer loaders and compact track loaders; backhoes; utility, construction and production class crawler dozers; crawler loaders, and knuckleboom loaders.
The exact number of employees impacted by the moves will depend on overall Dubuque Works production levels when mid-frame skid steer loader and compact track loader production ends, attrition over the next two years, and reassignment opportunities for employees."
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