On Top of June Layoffs, John Deere Adds 600 More

Some 600 John Deere factory workers in the Midwest will be getting pink slips come the end of next month, reports CNN, as Deere continues to shed employees in what it calls a "proactive" response to weakening demand for its agricultural equipment. Two factories in Iowa will lose about 310 workers, while a factory in Illinois, where Deere is based, will lose about 280 come August 30. That's a fairly significant cull from a total of 4,175 employees at the three factories, which produce harvesting, construction, and forestry equipment, and it follows 620 layoffs at two of its factories at the end of June.

It's not all belt-tightening, though, as the company is planning a shift to a future facility in Ramos, Mexico. That leads Fox 8 to wonder if the move is "cost-cutting or are jobs being moved outside the US?" Regardless, the company reported $10.16 billion in net income last year and projects that number to be about $7 billion this year, with one exec saying that "We do expect incremental demand decline in the back half of 2024," per CNN. (More John Deere stories.)