ANKENY, Iowa — Nearly 120 workers at the John Deere Des Moines Works facility in Ankeny will be laid off this spring.

John Deere confirmed on Friday that 119 employees were informed they’d be laid off. The layoffs will occur in three groups — the first on March 28, the second on April 4, and the third on April 28. The Ankeny facility currently employs nearly 1,500 workers.

In a statement John Deere said the layoffs “are due to reduced demand for the products produced at Des Moines Works.” The company went on to say that the layoffs are also the result of a weakened farm economy and reduction in customer orders, not due to production moves.

According to John Deere, the USDA has forecasted that major row-crop cash receipts will decline 4.8% from 2024. New crop prices have dropped over 30% compared to 2022 and are expected to continue to decline.

The latest round of layoffs at Des Moines Works come almost a year after 150 workers were laid off at the facility in March 2024. According to WARN records, in total John Deere eliminated nearly 1,500 positions in Iowa last year.

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