Deere to suspend production at Davenport, Dubuque facilities

John Deere has announced it will temporarily suspend production at its Davenport Works and Dubuque Works facilities for two weeks. The temporary suspension, which will begin May 11, is due to supply chain disruptions and weakened demand for construction and forestry equipment amid the coronavirus pandemic. Production is expected to resume May 26.

"Temporary production shutdowns such as this occur regularly on an annual basis at our facilities," says Jen Hartmann, director, strategic public relations at Deere & Company. "This is a common measure to adjust for supply and demand adjustments as referenced above."

Earlier this week, 159 employees at the Dubuque Works facility were informed they would be laid off indefinitely beginning June 1. These layoffs are in addition to the 105 employees who were notified in February they would be laid off effective April 6, which has since been moved to May 4.

Below is a short list of equipment that both facilities manufacture:

Davenport Works: articulated dump trucks, cabs, felling heads, 4WD loaders, motor graders, skidders, wheeled feller bunchers

Dubuque Works: backhoe loaders, compact track loaders, crawler dozers, high-speed dozers, knuckleboom loaders, skid steer loaders, tracked feller bunchers, tracked harvesters