The world’s largest seller of tractors announced another round of layoffs in a statement on Friday.
John Deere informed roughly 610 employees at plants in Illinois and Iowa that their jobs were being cut, effective August 30, reported Fox 5 New York. In October, the company announced its first round of layoffs — 225 employees from its East Moline, Illinois, plant. Nearly 700 more employees were laid off from various locations, per Fox 5.
The latest round of layoffs will affect 280 employees in East Moline, 230 employees in Davenport, Iowa, and 100 production employees in Dubuque, Iowa.
The company blamed reduced demand for the layoffs.
“These changes are being made due to reduced demand for the products produced at these facilities,” a spokesperson for the company said, reported WTVO News. “As stated in our second quarter earnings call, industry sales are expected to further decline in the back half of FY2024. To better position Deere to meet future demand, we continue to take proactive steps to reduce production and inventory.”
Workers were critical of the move.
“We get wind of more layoffs daily, it seems, and it’s causing uncertainty all over,” said a worker, who asked to remain anonymous, reported Fox 5. “The only reason for Deere to do this is greed.”
In May, the company reported a more than 15% revenue decline, marking the third straight quarter of declines, reported WDBJ 7. The company expects further sales declines in the remaining quarters and said it would “take proactive steps to reduce production and inventory.”
The company blamed rising manufacturing costs and operational efficiencies for its recently announced decision to move its manufacturing facility from Dubuque to Mexico by the end of 2026, reported Fox 5.