John Deere Layoffs: All the Details

John Deere has announced the beginning of its planned layoffs, with more than 100 salaried employees fired from their positions as of Wednesday, July 24. This news comes amidst reports that the company plans to lay off more than 600 employees in total by the end of August and that it is scaling back its DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) efforts. Let’s take a look at what else we know about these latest developments.

John Deere Layoffs: More Than 100 Employees Terminated

As of Wednesday, July 24, salaried staff members of Deere and Co., which does business as John Deere, were fired, as reported by ABC 9.

34 workers in Dubuque and 69 workers in Waterloo were informed and let go, according to Iowa’s WARN list, which was obtained by the outlet. The affected staff received the news at 9 a.m. that morning. Those who spoke about the layoffs mentioned that discussions were taking place remotely.

According to ABC 9, over 500 other workers in the Quad Cities were laid off during the previous few months. There were job losses in Iowa as well, in Waterloo and Dubuque.

At the agricultural manufacturer, layoffs follow fluctuations in the market for farm equipment. The WARN list shows that John Deere has cut 1,473 manufacturing roles in Iowa so far this year.

“As the largest global manufacturer of agricultural equipment, John Deere, like many others in our industry, faces significant economic challenges, rising operational and manufacturing costs, and reduced customer demand, including a 20 percent decline in sales from 2023 to 2024,” the company said in a statement to the outlet.

The company also said that it would provide affected employees with job placement services, severance pay, repayment for unused paid time off, and both short-term and long-term cash compensation benefits.

Company-Wide Cutbacks

The John Deere layoffs were first announced last month. At that time, the company announced that it would be terminating about 600 production workers from three of its factories by August 30.

This choice impacts around 280 people at the John Deere Harvester Works in East Moline, Illinois, and approximately 230 employees at the John Deere Davenport Works in Davenport, Iowa. Furthermore, some 100 production workers at the John Deere Dubuque Works in Dubuque, Iowa, will be affected by layoffs.

However, depending on their seniority, the impacted workers will have the chance to be called back to their individual factories or considered for future positions when they become available.

Last week, too, the company announced that it would be scaling back its DEI efforts following backlash from political conservatives.

“We will no longer participate in or support external social or cultural awareness parades, festivals, or events,” the company said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter. 

In the same statement, John Deere also said that the company would be “auditing all company-mandated training materials and policies to ensure the absence of socially motivated messages” in compliance with federal and local laws as well as “reaffirming within the business that the existence of diversity quotas and pronoun identification have never been and are not company policy.”

The Associated Press reported that John Deere and Tractor Supply made their announcements “after backlash piled up online from conservative activists opposed to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, sponsorship of LGBTQ+ Pride events and climate advocacy.” The move follows the retailer’s termination of several corporate diversity and climate initiatives.

The Human Rights Campaign’s vice president of programs and corporate advocacy, Eric Bloem, described John Deere’s decision as “disappointing” and “a direct result of a coordinated attack by far-right extremists on American business” in an interview with AP.

The National Black Farmers Association’s president, John Boyd Jr., filed a petition on Wednesday calling for the CEO of John Deere, John C. May, to resign as well as for a firm boycott.