Davenport Jobs Saved, John Deere’s Waterloo Foundry Not So Lucky

Whether you blame it on two years of trade wars with China or the on-going global pandemic, the Cedar Valley's largest employer is in the midst of a financial storm. In late May, John Deere revealed their net income was projected to fall $1 billion this year.

In late June, John Deere announced in statement that 82 workers in Davenport would be facing lay-offs starting in early August. It's not clear why they changed their mind, but officials went on to say that the workers were informed last week that the lay-offs will NOT take place. The bad news is, 35 Waterloo Foundry jobs will not be so fortunate. The Des Moines Register confirmed that John Deere said Tuesday, "that it will continue with its plans to cut 35 workers at the company's Waterloo foundry". The lay-offs will be effective starting August 3rd.

As reported in The Gazette:

“Each John Deere factory continuously balances the size of its workforce with the needs of the individual factory and to optimize the workforce at each facility,” Deere officials said.

Salaried employees are not included in the lay-offs. Earlier this year, some salaried employees were offered a "buyout", and another round of those were just recently offered. Over the past year, the company has cut nearly 200 Iowa manufacturing jobs. The Waterloo foundry currently has 409 production employees and 99 salaried workers.