John Deere Laying Off Workers in Midwest US, Opening Plant in Mexico

[PTmowerMech]

John Deere Laying Off Workers in Midwest US, Opening Plant in Mexico​

John Deere announced a wave of layoffs on Friday that will affect workers in Illinois and Iowa, while planning to open a facility in Mexico in 2026.

In a press release, the company wrote: “We can confirm Deere leadership recently communicated that rising operational costs and declining market demand require enterprise-wide changes in how work gets done to achieve our goals and best position the company for the future.”

The company announced the new facility in Ramos, Mexico earlier this month. The press release also added that the production of mid-frame skid steer loaders and compact track loaders will be moved to the Mexico factory from the Dubuque, Iowa location.

The new layoffs come just one month after they announced hundreds of layoffs at the Waterloo, Iowa plant. These layoffs and others have affected over 1,000 John Deere workers in the past nine months.

 

[Abbeville]

Well, that does it for me and Deere. I wanted a JD z turn mower, found one that I liked used but then decided that the price to join the big boys on the porch was too high. I'm not going to look at any more of their products. Those are Americans that got laid off, with families.
I understand that union wages are a big part of the problem but I'm not getting started on what I think of unions...

 

[PTmowerMech]

Well, that does it for me and Deere. I wanted a JD z turn mower, found one that I liked used but then decided that the price to join the big boys on the porch was too high. I'm not going to look at any more of their products. Those are Americans that got laid off, with families.
I understand that union wages are a big part of the problem but I'm not getting started on what I think of unions...

I like the looks of the new Stihl ZTR's.

As far as JD goes, I don't really blame them. The #1 reason to go into business, or keep a business going, is profit. Down in Mexico, they can pay people $20 to $30 per day. And that's not a bad wage for them. Here, they're having to pay that much per hour. Plus a ton of benefits.

If anyone is to blame it's the big spending politicians who have destroyed the US dollar value. $20 to $30 per day here should be a decent wage still. But now, $15hr is a poverty wage.

 

[hlw49]

I like the looks of the new Stihl ZTR's.

As far as JD goes, I don't really blame them. The #1 reason to go into business, or keep a business going, is profit. Down in Mexico, they can pay people $20 to $30 per day. And that's not a bad wage for them. Here, they're having to pay that much per hour. Plus a ton of benefits.

If anyone is to blame it's the big spending politicians who have destroyed the US dollar value. $20 to $30 per day here should be a decent wage still. But now, $15hr is a poverty wage.

Stihl ztr's are built by Ferris a long time mower manufacture in the business.

 

[PTmowerMech]

Stihl ztr's are built by Ferris a long time mower manufacture in the business.

Last I heard, Ferris made a good product.

 

[GearHead36]

Well, that does it for me and Deere.

I wrote off JD over their right-to-repair policies, and underhanded maneuvers.

 

[bkeller500]

Moving the production to Mexico will save JD Millions........but it will not lower the selling prices a penny.

 

[StarTech]

Moving the production to Mexico will save JD Millions........but it will not lower the selling prices a penny.

Maybe, Maybe not...all depends what the government decides in relationship to tariffs which we all pay when we buy the products with tariffs on them. Don't be fool into thinking those tariffs are only paid by the companies as they will pass it along to the end buyer and make a profit on it too. I have seen some the parts I buy nearly double in price since the DJT tariffs were put into effect and most are still in effect if not added to. I actually made a larger profit on some them when sold them because of the newer prices. But replacing at the current hurts profit margins as they are slimmer then in the past. Some actually cost more than what they want to sell them for. On those I adjust my prices to break even pricing just to stay half way competitive with the big boys.

I wrote off JD over their right-to-repair policies, and underhanded maneuvers.

Yes, they pull dirty tricks. Like they just up and decide to pull my 10% discount locally. But I found a work around and still get my 10% discount. It just the local dealer lost almost all their sales to me as I order out of state now.

 

[MParr]

I like the looks of the new Stihl ZTR's.

As far as JD goes, I don't really blame them. The #1 reason to go into business, or keep a business going, is profit. Down in Mexico, they can pay people $20 to $30 per day. And that's not a bad wage for them. Here, they're having to pay that much per hour. Plus a ton of benefits.

If anyone is to blame it's the big spending politicians who have destroyed the US dollar value. $20 to $30 per day here should be a decent wage still. But now, $15hr is a poverty wage.

Stihl is a Ferris with a different paint scheme. As most of you know, Ferris is under the Briggs and Stratton umbrella. Parts availability is sketchy with Briggs and Stratton.

 

[Tiger Small Engine]

John Deere Laying Off Workers in Midwest US, Opening Plant in Mexico​

John Deere announced a wave of layoffs on Friday that will affect workers in Illinois and Iowa, while planning to open a facility in Mexico in 2026.

In a press release, the company wrote: “We can confirm Deere leadership recently communicated that rising operational costs and declining market demand require enterprise-wide changes in how work gets done to achieve our goals and best position the company for the future.”

The company announced the new facility in Ramos, Mexico earlier this month. The press release also added that the production of mid-frame skid steer loaders and compact track loaders will be moved to the Mexico factory from the Dubuque, Iowa location.

The new layoffs come just one month after they announced hundreds of layoffs at the Waterloo, Iowa plant. These layoffs and others have affected over 1,000 John Deere workers in the past nine months.

Remember that zero turn mowers for John Deere are just one product line. The big tractors, combines, etc. is where the real money is. Customers demanding lower price often puts pressure on companies to find ways to be profitable. Our standard of living is much higher than Mexico, thus the higher wages. John Deere has done a wonderful job of marketing and branding their products, but nothing special or better about their zero turns, in my experience.