John Deere Dubuque Works announces 105 layoffs effective in April
FEBRUARY 08, 2020
John Deere Dubuque Iowa Works announced Friday that it will be laying off 105 employees.
According to the public relations manager, Dan Bernick, the layoffs are in response to market conditions. The layoffs will be effective starting April 6.
In Dubuque, John Deere focuses on manufacturing forestry and construction equipment, not tractors.
Bernick stated that each factory is based on customer demand for the products and the size of the workforce and that no other John Deere's location is impacted at this time.
In November 2019, John Deere announced that its net sales had increased by 4% in the fourth quarter and that construction and forestry reported higher sales and profit for the year. The total net income was $3.353 billion, and the company expected 2020's income to be between $2.7 billion and $3.1 billion.
"Despite present challenges, the longer-term outlook for our businesses remains healthy and points to a promising future for Deere," said John C. May, the chief executive officer, in November.
May added: "We are particularly encouraged by the adoption of precision technologies and believe we are well-positioned to be a leader in the delivery of smarter, more efficient and sustainable solutions to our customers. At the same time, we are committed to the successful execution of our strategic plan and have initiated a series of measures to create a leaner organizational structure that can operate with more speed and agility. We're confident these steps will lead to improved efficiencies and help the company focus its resources and investments on areas that have the greatest impact on performance."