DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Farm equipment maker Deere & Co. will lay off 45 workers this month at its Dubuque factory, the company announced Monday.
The layoffs, effective Oct. 22, were necessary due to unfavorable market conditions, said John May, general manager of John Deere Dubuque Works.
May said the layoffs will affect workers with the least seniority.
The factory, with more than 1,700 employees, manufactures equipment such as backhoe loaders, crawler dozers and skid steer loaders.
Dan White, president of United Auto Workers Local 94, said the equipment orders at the plant have decreased during a slowdown in the American housing market, which hit a 12-year low in August.
''We knew from the news reports that housing starts were down,'' White said. ''The orders haven't been coming in.''
Deere is based in Moline, Ill.
