The famed manufacturer of lawn and farm equipment announced Tuesday that the Welland factory will be closing by the end of 2009, eliminating about 800 jobs.

Manufacturing production done at the plant will be moved to company facilities in Wisconsin and Mexico.

Speaking with reporters in the plant Tuesday afternoon following the announcement, company spokesman Ken Golden said the decision was based on a strategy of centralizing services to maximize profitability.

“The company has been consolidating its manufacturing capacity and looking for efficient and highly profitable operations,” said Golden. “We have an obligation to do that for our shareholders.”

He added that the closure was especially tough for the company, as the Welland plant had been in operation since 1911. The production of the Gator utility vehicles at Welland will move to the Horicon, Wisc., plant, where they are currently also manufactured, said Golden.

Production of cutting and loading attachments will be transferred to Deere installations in Monterrey and Saltillo, Mexico.

The closure will be complete by the end of 2009, directly affecting about 800 jobs, but indirectly affecting other area businesses that supply John Deere. The first phase of the closure begins in February; the number of employees to be let go at that time has not yet been identified.

Golden said the company will have career counsellors on site to help smooth the transition for the workers and discussions will begin with the Canadian Auto Workers on severance.

The plant is represented by the CAW local 275.

Tom Napper, president of the local, said the closure was a blow to Niagara as a whole. But he also sounded optimistic the decision could be reversed.

“Now, there are so few places to work — this was one facility that was looked to as a closure positive example in the community and without proper political intervention, it may be gone too,” Napper said in a media release.

CAW president Buzz Hargrove also responded to the closure. He was quick to blame the federal government, but also said it wasn’t too late to save the plant.

“We will be contacting the federal, provincial and municipal governments immediately to intervene to keep this facility open,” said Hargrove.

“While workers are suffering from job loss, it is the Harper government that should bear the brunt of the responsibility for this closure. This government’s utter insensitivity to the plight of working Canadians is shameful and must come to an end.”

Workers were notified of the decision on Tuesday in an all-employee meeting at 2:30 p.m. They were given the rest of the day off. Many who spoke with the media on their way out expressed shock at the decision.

“It’s not a very good day,” said Jim Reid, from St. Catharines, who worked at John Deere for the past five years.

“I didn’t see it coming.”

It wasn’t the first time Reid was the victim of the downturn of Canadian manufacturing. He also worked at Exolon in Thorold before it closed.

“What work is left now in the Niagara region, plant-wise?” he said.

Another worker, who didn’t want to give his name for fear of reprisals, is another two-time victim. The man, an electrician at John Deere for the past five-and-a-half years, worked at Atlas Specialty Steels until it closed.

“It’s a shame, but I’ve been through tough times before,” he said. “I’m six years older now. Who’s going to hire me now?”

All workers who stopped outside the plant to talk to reporters said they were told the high Canadian dollar made the cost of doing business in Niagara impossible.

Speaking at Tuesday night’s council meeting, only hours after the closure announcement, Mayor Damian Goulbourne said the news had left the community “devastated” and that his heart went out to the workers and their families.

“It seems like we’ve just gotten back on our feet from 2003, when there was the closure of several plants, including Atlas Specialty Steels,” said Goulbourne.

The mayor said he had already made contact with the Ministry of Training, Universities and Colleges in an appeal to help the workers who are losing their jobs.

And although the decision by John Deere seemed to be a done deal, Goulbourne said he will still entertain any ideas to keep the plant open.

“Right now, it’s all about absorbing the shock,” he said. “I’m not ready to walk away from this yet.”

Goulbourne told regional politicians at a committee meeting Wednesday that Sandra Pupatello, Ontario Minister of Economic Development and Trade, has agreed to meet with city officials to discuss the John Deere announcement.

Officials with the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, which would likely be involved in retraining of workers, were also on the phone almost immediately, he said.

“The province has been exceptional,” he said.

But Goulbourne said there may be little that can be done to avert the closure. He said John Deere officials said the company’s entire business case for the plant is based on the Canadian dollar being around 80 cents compared to the American dollar.

A higher Canadian dollar eats into the plant’s profitability, he said company officials said.

“There isn’t much the city and region can do in my opinion,” he said. “We are a branch plant country: decisions are made outside of our region and country.”

Regional Chairman Peter Partington called the announcement “very unexpected and very sad,” and said it only underscores the importance of efforts to diversify Niagara’s economy to lessen the reliance on traditional manufacturing, which has taken a beating in recent years.

He said the closure won’t just affect the 800 workers at John Deere: jobs at companies that supply the plant could also be jeopardized.