Worker layoffs in Iowa agribusiness have extended to the meat processing industry with Smithfield Foods' closure of its ham boning facility at Altoona, and intensified in farm equipment manufacturing, as John Deere cut another 300 jobs.
Smithfield said its closure of the facility and reduction of 314 jobs there aims to "improve the efficiency of its manufacturing platform" by consolidating production volume.
Production capacity will be redistributed to existing facilities in Monmouth, Illinois; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Crete, Nebraska.
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While Smithfield has not disclosed plans for how many employees it may retain, it is developing a transition plan, severance pay and financial incentives to "assure business continuity," it said in a statement.
Agri-Pulse reported last month the first wave of layoffs in Corn Belt farm-related industries affecting 774 workers.
An additional 211 John Deere plant jobs in Davenport and 99 in Dubuque will be eliminated by the end of August, according to an Iowa Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice.
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