(Reuters) – Agriculture equipment maker Deere & Co said on Friday it would move the company’s cab production from its Waterloo, Iowa plant to Mexico due to a tight labor market in the United States.
The transfer of cab production from its Tractor and Cab assembly operations facility to the components plant in Ramos, Mexico is expected to be completed by 2024, impacting about 250 employees.
“The decision to move cab production ensures the company can balance workforce needs within the tight labor market, while also ensuring Waterloo can open up floor space to manufacture new products,” the company said in a statement.
An acute shortage of workers is boosting wage growth, increasing costs for U.S. manufacturers who are already dealing with inflationary pressures.
Deere missed Wall Street revenue targets in its latest quarterly results and flagged difficulties in securing parts for its heavy machinery.
(Reporting by Nathan Gomes and Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
