Des Moines, Iowa: John Deere to Close Ottumwa and Clarion Plants, Shift Work to Ankeny

John Deere announced on Wednesday, November 4, that it will close its Ottumwa Works factory in southeast Iowa and end manufacturing at its Hagie plant in Clarion, in a phased restructuring that moves production to other plants over the next several years. The Des Moines Register reported the plan shifts work from Ottumwa to the company Des Moines Works plant in Ankeny, inside the Des Moines metro. Deere said the changes follow shifts in customer demand and the manufacturing capacity it has available.

Ottumwa work moves to Ankeny

Windrower production, the hay and grain cutting line built in Ottumwa, will move to Des Moines Works by the end of fiscal year 2027, which ends October 31, 2027. Round baler production for silage will follow to Ankeny by the end of fiscal year 2028. After that transition, Deere plans to close the Ottumwa plant. The company has operated in Ottumwa for more than a century, the Register reported, and farm equipment outlets put the age of the factory at 115 years.

The Register reported the production shift is not expected to boost employment at Des Moines Works. That means the Ankeny plant gains product lines without a promised gain in jobs, while Ottumwa loses the lines that have anchored its factory.

Clarion sprayers move to Louisiana

Deere will move production of its self propelled Hagie STS sprayers from Clarion, where they have been made since 1947, to its factory in Thibodaux, Louisiana, beginning in fiscal year 2028. Manufacturing in Clarion will end by fiscal year 2029. WHO, carried by KCAU, also reported small planter production will move from Moline, Illinois, to the Deere facility in Paton, Iowa, in fiscal year 2027. AgNavigator reported sugar cane harvester production will move from Thibodaux to Catalao, Brazil, closer to the largest group of customers for those machines.

Workers, the union and open questions

Deere did not disclose how many jobs the restructuring will affect, the Corridor Business Journal reported. The Register reported Deere must work with the United Auto Workers, the union that represents Ottumwa employees, on what the changes mean for those workers. AgNavigator reported the company said it will engage workers, union representatives and community members to determine the best use for the Clarion and Ottumwa facilities after production leaves. Deere and the UAW are scheduled to begin contract negotiations in 2027, and the current contract expires that year.

The announcement came weeks after a softer report from the company. The Register reported Deere said in August that profits for the first nine months of fiscal year 2026 were 4 percent lower than a year earlier, with sales of production and precision farm equipment down 6 percent. On October 30, Deere announced it would recall or hire more than 675 workers across its plants, while about 125 employees remained on layoff in the Des Moines area. For Ottumwa and Clarion, the long phase out gives workers and town leaders dates to plan around, but the central question the company has not answered in public is how many of the current jobs survive the moves.