A Kansas agriculture employer is reducing its workforce.
AGCO Corporation announced Wednesday the reduction of its workforce by 111 cumulative positions at its Beloit and Hesston facilities.
“The agriculture economy has always been cyclical, marking time with historic ebbs and flows that have caused industry leaders to adapt accordingly,” said Dennis Branch, vice president of AGCO North American human resources. “Just as the market has required an expansion of our workforce in recent years, today it dictates workforce reductions across the equipment industry. We’ll continue to focus on minimizing the impact on our employees and our business operations as best we can.”
AGCO’s Beloit facility is reducing its workforce by 39 hourly positions, approximately 10 percent of its workforce. The Beloit facility primarily produces tillage tools under multiple AGCO brand names.
AGCO’s Hesston facility has undergone its second position reduction, beginning with the reduction of 24 positions on Aug. 26 and culminating with 72 additional positions reduced this week, resulting in a 6 percent decrease in workforce. The Hesston facility primarily produces hay and harvesting products under multiple AGCO brand names.
“Much like other key players in the equipment industry, our decisions will continue to be influenced by reduced sales volume brought on by sliding commodity prices,” Branch said. “To minimize further long-term impact on our workforce, we’ll be taking steps such as realigning production operations in some areas and implementing temporary workforce reductions in others. Our belief is that the long-term outlook for AGCO is very strong. Like it always has, the agriculture economy will rebound and at that point we’ll be poised for another reaction to the market, this one equally impactful, but more positive than today’s.”
