MOLINE, Ill. ?EUR??,,????'??? Deere & Co. recently announced that it will close two plants and cut a total of 300 job cuts as part of an ongoing effort to lower its costs. The moves will reduce the work force at Deere?EUR??,,????'???s commercial and consumer equipment division by about seven percent. The unit, the company?EUR??,,????'???s second largest behind agriculture, makes commercial lawn mowing equipment, irrigation systems and utility vehicles. In addition, Deere announced the addition of Home Depot Inc., the world?EUR??,,????'???s largest home-improvement retailer, as a sales outlet. Deere shares were up 18 cents to $44.08 in early New York Stock Exchange trade. The company said it will close plants in Williamsburg, Va., and Jeffersonville, Ind., by Oct. 31, the end of its fiscal year. It expects to transfer some employees to other locations. Deere said it expects the changes, plus the Home Depot deal, to improve the division?EUR??,,????'???s operating performance by about $25 million pretax annually starting next year. The company said it will shift production of its Gator utility vehicles from the Williamsburg plant to Horicon, Wisc., the site of the division?EUR??,,????'???s largest factory, and to Welland, Ontario, where some of the line is already produced.