by Jennifer Bamberg, Investigate Midwest, Investigate Midwest
January 14, 2025

by Jennifer Bamberg, Investigate Midwest, Investigate Midwest
January 14, 2025

For nearly 200 John Deere workers in Iowa, the first few days of 2025 marked the end of their employment. 

On Jan. 3, 112 employees were laid off at the Waterloo facility and 80 were laid off at John Deere Davenport Works. Next month, 75 additional employees will be laid off at a plant in Ottumwa, Iowa,  according to a review of WARN layoff data.

!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();

The Moline, Illinois-based agricultural giant laid off 2,167 workers in 2024 at facilities in Waterloo, Davenport, Dubuque, Ankeny, Johnston, Urbandale, Ottumwa in Iowa and in Moline and East Moline in Illinois, according to layoff data.

In a statement issued Monday, Deere attributed the cuts to “challenging market conditions” and subsequent lower demand from farmers.

Deere’s profits peaked at record highs in 2022 at $10.16 billion, partly due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that sent crop prices soaring in the U.S., allowing farmers to spend more on equipment, according to Bloomberg. Since then, sales have declined 20% and Deere’s stock price is down 16%, according to the company. Profits in 2023 fell to $7.1 billion.

.tier-select {
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
margin-bottom: 1rem;
padding: 0.5rem;
}

// Function to render the PayPal button with the selected amount
function renderPayPalButton() {
var donationAmount = document.getElementById(‘donation-amount’).value; // Get selected amount

// Clear the existing PayPal button
document.getElementById(‘paypal-button-container’).innerHTML = ”;

// Render the PayPal button with the updated amount
paypal.Buttons({
style: {
layout: ‘vertical’,
color: ‘blue’,
shape: ‘rect’,
label: ‘donate’
},
createOrder: function(data, actions) {
return actions.order.create({
purchase_units: [{
amount: {
value: donationAmount // Use the dynamically selected donation amount
}
}]
});
},
onApprove: function(data, actions) {
return actions.order.capture().then(function(details) {
alert(‘Thank you for your donation, ‘ + details.payer.name.given_name + ‘!’);
});
}
}).render(‘#paypal-button-container’); // Render PayPal button inside the container
}

// Initial rendering of the PayPal button with the default amount
renderPayPalButton();

CEO John May received $26.7 million in compensation in 2023 and $20.3 million in 2022, according to the company’s public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

In a statement from Oct. 16 regarding last year’s layoffs, Deere noted that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had projected row-crop cash receipts to fall considerably  for 2024 following a 5% drop in 2023.

The statement also noted that the average price for corn being harvested at the time was down 37% from 2022. Soybean prices were down 24% and wheat prices had declined 35%.

In June, Deere & Co announced plans to move manufacturing of skid steer loaders and compact track loaders from a facility in Dubuque, Iowa to Mexico by the end of 2026. A Deere representative told Industrial Equipment News that the move is “unrelated to the layoffs.”

In September, then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump threatened to impose a 200% tariff on John Deere products built in Mexico, and erroneously claimed in October that the company called off the move in response. A spokesperson for Deere & Co. told Bloomberg that no changes have been made to shift some production from Iowa to Mexico. 

This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://investigatemidwest.org/2025/01/14/john-deere-has-cut-more-than-4500-jobs-since-2015/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://investigatemidwest.org”>Investigate Midwest</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img id=”republication-tracker-tool-source” src=”https://investigatemidwest.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=750009&amp;ga4=G-R9VE8P61LG” style=”width:1px;height:1px;”><script> PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https://investigatemidwest.org/2025/01/14/john-deere-has-cut-more-than-4500-jobs-since-2015/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } } </script> <script id=”parsely-cfg” src=”//cdn.parsely.com/keys/investigatemidwest.org/p.js”></script>