John Deere is closing two plants and laying off three hundred workers, but the move does not affect plants or Deere workers in Iowa. Moline, Illinois-based Deere and Company will close plants in Virginia and Indiana by October 31st. Workers at the Virginia plant made “Gators” and production on those utility vehicles will be shifted to Deere plants in Wisconsin and Oregon. Workers at the Indiana plant made “Great Dane” mowing equipment and those mowers will be made at a Deere plant in North Carolina.The three hundred layoffs associated with the plant closures will reduce the number of workers in Deere’s commercial and consumer equipment division by seven percent. Deere laid off about 17-hundred workers last year.
