John Deere announces 600+ layoffs as farm equipment demand slows

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John Deere will lay off more than 600 production workers in the Midwest as demand for farm equipment slows.

The company said Monday that the cuts will be at its headquarters in Moline, Illinois and two factories in Iowa, The Associated Press reported.

John Deere’s revenue declined more than 15% in the second quarter with three consecutive quarters of sales declines year-over-year, according to the AP.

Farmers are buying fewer pieces of equipment as they make less for crops, with net farm income projected to be down 25% in 2024 from the previous year.

The layoffs will hit about 14% of John Deere’s 4,000-plus production and maintenance employees — but a much smaller percentage of its overall workplace. The company currently has more than 80,000 employees internationally.

“We can confirm Deere leadership recently communicated that rising operational costs and declining market demand requires enterprise-wide changes in how work gets done to achieve our goals and best position the company for the future,” John Deere told Fox Business in a statement.

The company has been steadily laying off employees for months now. It gave pink slips to 225 workers at its Moline Harvester Works plant in October, laid off another 150 workers in Ankeny, Iowa in March, and sunsetted 34 other jobs in Moline in May. Another 500 employees were also let go in Waterloo, Iowa, Fox Business said.

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