John Deere has announced it will suspend production at its plant in Ottumwa, Ia. for a month — from early December to early January — in the wake of reduced customer demand for its products, according to recent news report published by local news outlets, including KCRG-TV and the Des Moines Register.
Deere says the factory is planning another of what it calls a “temporary inventory adjustment shutdown” from early December through early January, due to reduced demand for ag equipment.
The Ottumwa Works employs “less than 400” employees, who will receive close to their normal pay while the plant is idled, according to United Auto Workers Local 74, which represents the workers, according to reporting by Des Moines Register jobs/economy reporter Kevin Baskins.
It noted that the plant manufactures hay and forage equipment, adding that Deere had announced earlier it was moving mower production from Ottumwa to Mexico, resulting in the company offering early retirement packages to 103 employees.
In an email to the Register, Deere said each of its factories balances its work schedule with the projected demand for its products with what the company calls “an inventory adjustment shutdown.” Ottumwa works had a similar three-week shutdown in August.
Reduced demand for farm machinery and slow economy led to Deere reducing the workforce over 2024, according to the Des Moines Register’s recent news update on the equipment giant, which, since March, has laid off approximately 26,000 operations workers across its network of plants in Ankeny, Dubuque, Ottumwa, Waterloo and the Quad Cities’ Davenport and East Moline, as well as white-collar workers at its Urbandale research center and in Moline, and at other offices in Johnston and Dubuque.
In its communication with the Register, Deere said it continues to be committed to U.S. manufacturing and that its economic impact on hometown communities is valued at $27 billion. The company’s website notes that the Deere dealership network accounts for 50,000 employees, and the Quad Cities’ Moline, Ill., company employs approximately 30,000 at more than 60 facilities across 16 states.
Related content:
- Deere Confident on ‘Producing to Demand’ in Fiscal Year 2025
- Deere Production Could be Down 10-15% Next Year
- John Deere Expanding Agriculture & Turf Training Facility to Enhance Dealer Services
- Deere Announces More Layoffs in Illinois & Iowa
- John Deere Invests $13.5M to Expand Reman Core Center in Missouri
