Eastern Iowa Ag Manufacturer Lays Off 193 Employees

If you ever traveled Interstate 80 near the Williamsburg area you probably encountered a strange tower display of blue-colored ag equipment. The eye-catching display features ag equipment produced by Kinze Manufacturing. Unfortunately, the company made different headlines on Thursday.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that Kinze Manufacturing, which produces agriculture equipment in Williamsburg, laid off 193 employees on Thursday. According to Iowa Workforce Development, workers were notified on Wednesday about Thursday's layoffs. The Williamsburg location is Kinze's corporate headquarters and a factory, according to the Gazette.

Kinze's president, Susan Veatch, made a statement on Thursday saying that the layoff decision was "not made lightly" and is a result of the "current ag market realities", according to the Gazette. She added that no other layoffs are planned at this time. Kinze Manufacturing was founded in 1965 in Ladora and has locations in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. The Williamsburg location employed 815 people.

The layoffs are the latest as the demand for agriculture equipment continues to drop. The Gazette reports that John Deere has laid off over 2,000 employees in the last year. The latest round came earlier this week when 170 people lost their jobs in Dubuque, Johnston, and Waterloo.

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