Farm equipment manufacturer John Deere will cut 600 jobs by the end of the summer in an attempt to cut costs following a declining demand for its products.
The company announced the move on Monday, saying that the layoffs will take place at its two plants in Iowa and plant in East Moline, Illinois, and become effective by the end of August. It also added that laid-off workers will receive Supplemental Unemployment Benefits (SUB) as well as profit-sharing options and health benefits.
John Deere said in a statement that the job cuts were necessary as the demand for products manufactured in Iowa and Illinois plants has been greatly reduced.
“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 said in a statement.
In a previous attempt to cut costs, John Deere announced its intention to move production of some of its heavy machinery to a factory in Mexico. It also laid off roughly 500 workers from its plant in Waterloo, Iowa, in April and May.
During its most recent quarterly report in May, John Deere revealed a profit of $2.37 billion, down from $2.86 billion in the same period in 2023. The company also slashed its profit forecast to $7 billion compared to the previous prediction of $7.50 billion to $7.75 billion.