John Deere, an American agricultural, construction, and forestry equipment manufacturer, has denied reports that it is freezing operations in the United States, calling the claim a myth. But over the past year, the company has laid off thousands of workers and announced plans to shift some manufacturing to Mexico, raising concerns about the future of its U.S. workforce.
In 2024, John Deere cut 2,167 jobs at facilities in Iowa and Illinois, including Waterloo, Davenport, Dubuque, Ankeny, Ottumwa, Moline, and East Moline, according to Investigate Midwest. Layoffs have continued into 2025—nearly 200 workers were let go in Iowa during the first week of January alone, and 386 employees have been laid off statewide since the start of the year. At the Ankeny plant, 119 workers out of about 1,500 were laid off between March and April.
Deere has attributed the layoffs to a “weakened farm economy” and a drop in customer demand, stating the job cuts were unrelated to production shifts abroad.
At the same time, John Deere announced in June last year that it was moving its skid steer and track loader manufacturing from a facility in Dubuque, Iowa, to a new facility in Ramos, Mexico, by the end of 2026.
Deere told KCRG, an ABC affiliate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that workers in Dubuque will be affected as some construction and forestry business will go to the Mexican factory. The number of related layoffs in Dubuque, according to Deere, will depend on production levels, attrition, and Deere’s ability to reassign certain workers for other roles by 2026.
In response to the announcement, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump threatened to impose a 200 percent tariff on Deere equipment made in Mexico if the company moved its manufacturing there. He later claimed that Deere canceled its offshoring plans in response, but the company said it had not changed its plans and has shown no signs of backing down.
In November, John Deere confirmed its plans to build a US$55 million plant in Nuevo León, Mexico to manufacture mini track loaders and mini wheel loaders, according to reports from Mexico Now and Mexico Daily News. Gecimar Morini, Deere’s regional manager for Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, said the project would move forward “regardless” of political developments in the U.S., with operations scheduled to begin in 2026.
Labor leaders and economists have condemned the layoffs. United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 838 President Tim Cummings urged Deere to bring outsourced jobs “back to our factories,” and the labor union issued an official statement describing the layoffs and job cuts as “an insult to the working class people of Iowa and Illinois.” Economic analyst Nicholas Cocozzelli says that John Deere is selling out Iowans to enhance their bottom line.
Amid criticism, Deere is highlighting its U.S. investments. “Let’s clear the air. John Deere is not shutting down U.S. manufacturing. In fact, it’s quite the opposite,” the company said in a notice on its website. The notice goes on to highlight Deere’s recent commitment to invest US$20 billion into American manufacturing over the next 10 years.
But John Deere’s sweeping changes to its U.S. workforce have sparked both uncertainty and outrage, devastated communities that have been built around the company’s presence, and left hundreds of families questioning how they will pay rent, put food on the table, and find new sources of income.
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Photo courtesy of Yaroslav Muzychenko, Unsplash
