The world’s largest farm equipment company, Deere & Co, announced on Friday it plans to lay off at least 865 Iowa workers and another 45 of its Illinois employees.
At least 565 workers in Waterloo, Iowa, and 300 employees in Ankeny, Iowa will lose their jobs. The 45 lay offs in Illinois will come from East Moline, and another 500 employees at that facility will be furloughed.
“Sales have suffered as bumper corn and soy harvests have driven down crop prices, leaving farmers with less cash to spend on equipment,” reports Reuters.
Roughly half of John Deere’s 59,600 full-time employees are based in the U.S. and Canada (29,000). In August, Deere slashed 1,000 workers at its Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas facilities.
The latest round of lay offs represents represents a 3% reduction in Deere’s U.S. and Canada workforce.