John Deere, the world’s largest seller of tractors and harvesters, announced another wave of layoffs on Friday, telling about 610 production staff at plants in Illinois and Iowa that they will be out of a job until the end of the summer.
The company is cutting about 280 workers from a plant in East Moline, Illinois, while another 230 workers are being let go at a plant in Davenport, Iowa. About 100 production workers at the company’s Dubuque, Iowa, plant will also be affected. All layoffs will reportedly be effective Aug. 30, the company tells Fox Business.
The layoffs are being made because of reduced demand for John Deere products from those plants.
The company says it generated $10.166 billion in profits last year.
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“We can confirm that Deere’s leadership recently communicated that rising operational costs and declining market demand require enterprise-wide changes in the way work is done to achieve our goals and better position the company for the future, ” said a statement from John Deere.
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Workers will be offered Supplementary Unemployment Benefit (SUB) which will cover around 95% of their net weekly pay for up to 26 weeks, depending on their years of service. They are also given profit sharing options and health benefits.
Deere, known for its iconic green and yellow colors and leaping deer logo, is one of America’s oldest companies, founded in 1837, nearly 25 years before the start of the Civil War.
Earlier this month, Deere announced it will move production of skid steers and compact track loaders from its Dubuque facility in Mexico by the end of 2026.
The company said the decision was due to the development of its business model and to address rising production costs and improving operational efficiency.
“This includes optimizing our factories for future products, making our operations more efficient and leveraging US and global locations with a growing workforce,” the company said in a statement.
In October, John Deere announced the first wave of 225 layoffs at its Harvester Works plant in East Moline. Another 34 production workers were laid off in May at its Moline Cylinder Works plant, and in March, company officials announced they would lay off 150 more workers at a plant in Ankeny, Iowa, that makes sprayers and cotton pickers. .
About 500 employees have been let go at its Waterloo, Iowa plant, according to WQAD.
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A longtime John Deere worker at the Harvester Works plant in East Moline blamed the latest announcement on greed.
“We seem to have more layoffs every day, and it’s causing insecurity across the country,” the worker, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Guardian. “The only reason Deere would do this is greed.”
Deere & Co’s market capitalization stood at $102.81 billion as of Friday evening. In mid-May, the company said it had generated $27.42 billion in sales and net income during the first two quarters of the year. Its net income for the same time period was $4.121 billion.
The company recently cut its annual profit forecast for the second time and predicted larger declines in sales of large agricultural equipment.
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Lower crop prices are leaving farm equipment dealers with a glut of unsold tractors and combines, prompting some to offer discounts and suspend new orders.
The Department of Agriculture has also projected that farm income will fall 25.5% to $116.1 billion this year from 2023.
News of the layoffs comes amid a report Wednesday that John Deere CEO John May has put his 80-acre horse farm property up for sale. Its asking price is set at $3.925 million, according to its listing.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Original article source: John Deere announces mass layoffs in Midwest amid move of production to Mexico