John Deere, the world’s largest farm machinery manufacturer, announced a new round of production worker layoffs last week. The first week of January the Davenport Works in Iowa will cut 80 jobs; and the Waterloo Works in Iowa will cut 112 workers. These factories are in the region of John Deere’s world headquarters in Moline, Illinois. Some 2,000 jobs have been cut over 2024 to date in its factories in the Midwest. Deere operations have been cut in Dubuque, Urbandale, and Des Moines, in addition to the other towns cited.
The impact of the John Deere cutbacks are rippling through the Midwest states, where factories supplying inputs—belts, glass, plastics, upholstery, electronics—are also laying off workers, and in some cases shutting down.
The net income for Deere & Co., according to Agweb for Fiscal Year 2024 was $7.1 billion, down from FY 2023, which was $10.166 billion. The company projects that its FY 2025 net income will drop to the $5 to $5.5 billion level.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that farmers’ net income for 2024, will be down at least 25% from the previous year. Mid-level family farmers are not in a position to buy more equipment.
Incoming President Donald Trump made sparks fly a few weeks ago threatening that he will put 200% tariffs on farm machinery imports, if John Deere goes ahead with relocating some of its tractor cabs and other manufacturing to Mexico, for cheaper production costs. But threats and counter threats don’t address the fact that farm families can’t afford to continue to operate, and the impact is spreading throughout the farm states.
