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 Illinois and Iowa. 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 (inset) $26.7 million. A longtime John Deere worker at the Harvester Works plant in East Moline, Illinois, said it comes down to one thing: greed. The company, these days known almost exclusively for its green tractors and leaping deer logo, was established in 1837. In its early days, it produced self-scouring steel plows, which revolutionized farming and replaced the inferior cast iron plow that would often get stuck in sticky soil. Now, John Deere manufactures everything from tractors and construction vehicles to mowers and even snowmobiles.
