John Deere is sparking outrage by laying off American workers and moving more of its agricultural equipment manufacturing to Mexico.
Since October 2023, more than 1,000 John Deere workers have either been laid off or pushed into an early retirement across several plants in Iowa and Illinois.
In many instances, production that these US workers were responsible for has been shifted to new locations in Mexico. The company was founded 187 years ago.
More layoffs are expected later this year – despite John Deere raking in over $10 billion in profit in 2023 while also paying CEO John May $26.7 million in total compensation.
A longtime John Deere worker at the Harvester Works plant in East Moline, Illinois, told The Guardian it comes down to one thing: Greed.
Part of that greed is fostered by the unions – they are demanding higher wages. The profits could handle the wages though – so it is a lame excuse on that side of the coin.
Another problem is their requirement for repair-by-factory! I think that is going through the courts right now under a right to repair suit!
$26.7 million to the john deere ceo, I would call that corporate thief from the American farmers and the American homeowners who have been buying john deere lawn and garden equipment. Maybe an immediate company wide strike and boycott are in order.