Deere & Co. is laying off nearly 600 employees as the agricultural equipment maker struggles with falling demand.

Deere confirmed on Monday that the eliminated production jobs will be concentrated at two factories in Iowa and one at its home base in Moline, Illinois, where 280 employees will be laid off effective August 30. A total of 310 workers will be laid off at the Iowa sites.

In its second-quarter earnings release in May, Deere reported a sales decline of more than 15 percent, the third consecutive quarter of year-over-year sales declines. Management said at the time that it expected further sales declines in the second half of the fiscal year and announced that it would continue to “take proactive steps to reduce production and inventory levels.”

Deere & Co. reported quarterly profit of $2.37 billion, down from $2.86 billion in the year-ago period, and cut its full-year 2024 profit forecast for the second time as farmers continued to buy fewer tractors and other equipment due to falling prices for their crops.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that net farm income, which is a general measure of profit, will be $116.1 billion in 2024, down 25.5 percent from last year. Adjusted for inflation, net farm income is expected to fall 27.1 percent this year as farmers grapple with lower prices for soybeans and corn. The USDA said lower direct government payments and increased production costs are also weighing on farmers.

The latest layoffs affect around 14 percent of the more than 4,000 jobs in production and maintenance at the three plants. Deere employs more than 80,000 people worldwide.

Deere shares lost 1.6% in morning trading and are down about 7.5% since the start of 2024.

In early June, Deere announced that it would move production of its skid steers and track loaders from a plant in Dubuque, Iowa, to Mexico by the end of 2026. The company said it was in the process of acquiring land in Ramos, Mexico, to build a new factory there.

At the same time, Deere informed some workers at its Moline seeding and cylinder operations that more than 120 production employees would be laid off indefinitely, effective June 28.