John Deere to Execute Big Layoffs in Two States as Company Plans Shift to Mexico

John Deere is prepping for more big layoffs in two states that will leave 610 staffers without their jobs on August 30.

The company made the announcement on Friday and said those affected will be 280 employees at a plant in East Moline, Illinois, and 230 employees at a factory in Davenport, Iowa, Fox Business reported Saturday.

In March, Breitbart News reported that about 150 workers at the John Deere Des Moines Works in Ankeny, Iowa, were moving closer to being laid off in the months of April and May.

Per the recent Fox report, “About 100 production employees at the company’s Dubuque, Iowa, plant will also be impacted.”

The move comes amid “rising operational costs and declining market demand,” a company statement said. The Fox article noted that employees will be offered Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (SUB), profit-sharing options, and health benefits.

“Earlier this month, Deere announced it is moving the manufacturing of skid steer loaders and compact track loaders from its Dubuque facility to Mexico by the end of 2026,” the report said.

In 2022, John Deere said it would move part of its Tractor and Cab Assembly Operations facility from Waterloo, Iowa, to Mexico.

The company’s statement read in part:

The move is expected to be completed during the 2024 fiscal year. The number of employees affected will depend on where the business is with respect to production volumes, employee attrition over the next two years, and new product program needs.

We estimate that approximately 250 production employees could be impacted, but anticipate attrition and the tight job market will mitigate that impact.

Some of John Deere’s employees have accused the company of being greedy as it rolled out announcements about layoffs, the Guardian reported June 7.

One longtime employee at the plant in East Moline said, “We get wind of more layoffs daily, it seems, and it’s causing uncertainty all over. The only reason for Deere to do this is greed.”

A worker who took early retirement, 53-year-old Chris Laursen, said smaller communities feel the loss of their jobs acutely because there are not many options for work.

“A multinational corporation like Deere sees Mexico as pretty attractive for a cheap labor source: they can import steel cheaper there and bring it across the border and sell it to the majority of their market in the US,” Laursen said

“It’s a sign of the times, perpetuating what’s been going on with the loss of manufacturing here in America, good union jobs and otherwise,” he added.