After several rounds of cuts to production jobs, John Deere confirmed on July 24, that it has begun reducing its global salaried workforce.

As Ag Equipment Intelligence first reported on July 15, Deere’s executive leadership informed all salaried employees whose jobs do not require them to be on site to work from home July 24-25 and to postpone any business travel, according to a July 15, 2024 letter that was shared on X. In addition, Deere will be holding a global all-employee meeting July 24 that will provide more updates and “how these changes will affect our teams.” Following that meeting, employees “being separated will be notified and provided with more information about their personalized severance offer.”

Based on comments shared on Reddit message boards, IT and sales and marketing positions were among those hit by the layoffs. Online sources suggest the cuts could affect 4,500-6,000 employees when all is said and done. That accounts for about 15% of the approximately 30,000 people employed by Deere in more than 60 U.S.-based facilities across 16 states.

Deere would not confirm which departments and the number of employees impacted by this latest round of layoffs, but provided Farm Equipment with the following statement:

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.

  • This reduction in product demand and increased operational costs have unfortunately forced us to make tough decisions including layoffs at John Deere production facilities and reductions in our global salaried workforce.

We are committed to providing assistance and benefits to affected salaried employees. As part of this pledge, we are extending the following support to affected salaried employees in the U.S.:

  • Up to 12 months of severance based on years of service
  • Pro-rated short-term incentive (STI) and long-term incentive cash (LTIC) compensation benefits
  • Payment for any earned and unused vacation or paid time off and other factors
  • Access to ongoing health and wellness benefits and 12 months of professional job placement services

While the decision to reduce roles across the company was a challenging one, the company is confident that these adjustments, coupled with our ongoing efforts to reduce costs and align production and inventory levels, will position John Deere strongly for the future.

Amid all the layoffs in the last few months, Deere also announced it was buying land in Ramos, Mexico to build a factory that will take over some of the production currently done in its Dubuque Works facility in Iowa. And back in 2022 Deere announced plans to consolidate the manufacturing of cabs from the Tractor and Cab Assembly Operations (TCAO) to Ramos Component Works in Mexico.

While the OEM is laying off production and salaried employees and moving production to Mexico, it has hired social media influencer Rex Curtiss as its "chief tractor officer" — a position that comes with a salary close to $200,000, according to several media reports.

Deere's full statement from 2022 reads as follows:

John Deere’s plan to bring new product programs to our operations in Waterloo, Iowa, makes it necessary to consolidate the manufacturing of cabs from the Tractor and Cab Assembly Operations (TCAO) to Ramos Component Works in Mexico. The decision to move cab production ensures the company can balance workforce needs within the tight labor market, while also ensuring Waterloo can open up floor space to manufacture new products.

The move is expected to be completed during the 2024 fiscal year. The number of employees affected will depend on where the business is with respect to production volumes, employee attrition over the next two years, and new product program needs.

We estimate that approximately 250 production employees could be impacted, but anticipate attrition and the tight job market will mitigate that impact.

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