A recent update to the Iowa Workforce Adjustment and Retention Notification (WARN) system shows another round of Iowa production workers employed by John Deere will face the uncertain future of layoffs.
The notice submitted by John Deere states that 80 workers at the Davenport Works facility will be dismissed just after the holiday season on January 3, 2025.
An additional 112 workers out of John Deere’s Waterloo Works factory will face the same fate on January 6, 2025.
A few weeks ago, Deere reported on its 2024 Q4 earnings call net income of $1.245 billion, compared with net income of $2.369 billion for the same quarter in 2023. For fiscal-year 2024, net income attributable to Deere & Co. was $7.100 billion, compared with $10.166 billion or $34.63 per share, in fiscal 2023.
The company also shared it projects 2025 fiscal year net incomes to come in around the $5 to $5.5 billion mark.
The company has come under fire of late for its DEI initiatives and moving some production of tractor cabs and other components from the U.S. to its factories in Mexico. Recently-elected President Donald Trump threatened 200% tariffs on farm machinery manufactured outside our borders and imported into the U.S. if Deere continues to move production out of the Midwest.
Trump Threatens 200% Tariff If Deere Moves Manufacturing to Mexico
The latest round of layoffs follows a series of recent layoffs by Deere & Co., as reported by AgWeb contributor Jim Wiesemeyer back in July:
- 345 Waterloo workers were laid off effective September 20, 2024
- 280 employees at a Moline, Illinois factory, 299 at John Deere Davenport Works and 111 at John Deere Dubuque Works, all effective August 30, 2024
- Various other layoffs at facilities in Moline, Urbandale, Des Moines, and Waterloo in May and June 2024
In total, Deere & Co. has laid off over 2,000 workers between September 2023 and January 2025.
The company’s financial performance has been declining, with a 15% decrease in revenue reported in the second quarter of 2024 and lowered profit forecasts for the full year. These layoffs are occurring against a backdrop of declining farm income, with USDA projecting a 25.5% decrease in net farm income for 2024 compared to the previous year.
This summer, U.S. Farm Report host Tyne Morgan sat down with John Deere Executive Cory Reed to discuss the initial round of layoffs.
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