John Deere Announces Layoffs

[Bee-Positive]

Some recent headlines caught my eye and I thought I would share. This is cut, pasted & edited trying to keep it short. Some of you probably already know most of this, but I didn’t.

John Deere announces hundreds of layoffs across the United States and the decision to move more production to Mexico has sparked accusations of greed. In fiscal year 2023, the company reported a profit exceeding $10 billion. CEO John May received a staggering $26.7 million in total compensation, spent over $7.2 billion on stock buybacks and distributed more than $1.4 billion in dividends.

John Deere has announced plans to relocate the production of skid steer loaders and compact track loaders from its Dubuque, Iowa plant to Mexico by late 2026. A previous announcement in 2022 about moving cab production from Iowa to Mexico, impacting 250 employees.

Kubota tractors sold in North America are made at its Jefferson, Georgia facility. Certain unassembled machinery is imported from Japan and then final assembly takes place at the Georgia facility. Kubota's tractor engines are made at Kubota Engine America, headquartered in Lincolnshire, IL. Kubota America employs over 2,300 people in the United States who assist in making Kubota tractors in the United States.

In 2019 Kubota increased its commitment to North American tractor manufacturing when it announced an $85 million 300 acre expansion of its manufacturing facility in Gainesville, Georgia. This reflects Kubota's confidence in making tractors in the United States.

I’m not against making a profit nor saying that going forward JD products will be better or worse for the move south. I’m just glad I bought “Orange” and the privilege to be part of this (family) forum.

 

[Speed25]

That's interesting as they're currently expanding their excavator plant here in NC and hiring more local workforce for it. They've recently purchased a lot more land with additional buildings coming soon.

 

[Dustball]

What's the source of the article? It reads as a Kubota biased article.

 

[D2Cat]

JD also announced the closing of the Wamego, Ks. plant. There are approximately 400 employees there. They build the blades for their machines.

Wamego Caterpillar plant, which provides 400 jobs, to close in 2025

WAMEGO — Wamego’s largest employer is going to close next year.

themercury.com

 

[fried1765]

t

JD also announced the closing of the Wamego, Ks. plant. There are approximately 400 employees there. They build the blades for their machines.

Wamego Caterpillar plant, which provides 400 jobs, to close in 2025

WAMEGO — Wamego’s largest employer is going to close next year.

themercury.com

JD closing...... "Wamego, KS, plant" ???
The article clearly states that is a CAT plant.....not JD!

 

[Bee-Positive]

What's the source of the article? It reads as a Kubota biased article.

Fair observation:

The first part about John Deere is from various articles, there are many out there. The second part about Kubota is from equipmentradar.com. They are not from the same source.

I do try to look at the source of any article and at least do a little homework to determine if news items are one sided or not.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

thankfully they are doing something.

As an owner (shareholder) of Deere my stocks are down about 10% on the year. IE: I lost 10% of all my money in the company.

They have to do something to stop the under performance / low productivity / bleeding out the shareholders.

I don't care if the CEO makes 5 or 10 or 100X as long as the company gets run properly and starts increasing in value for the owner.

 

[D2Cat]

t


JD closing...... "Wamego, KS, plant" ???
The article clearly states that is a CAT plant.....not JD!

Guess I didn't have enough coffee this morning! I had read of all the JD closings and my brain went to that Plant for some reason. As by brother would always say, "Just testing you".

 

[Ktrim]

thankfully they are doing something.

As an owner (shareholder) of Deere my stocks are down about 10% on the year. IE: I lost 10% of all my money in the company.

They have to do something to stop the under performance / low productivity / bleeding out the shareholders.

I don't care if the CEO makes 5 or 10 or 100X as long as the company gets run properly and starts increasing in value for the owner.

View attachment 130711

Most of the people who work for these companies can't afford to buy stock. They are working to put a roof over the head and food on the table for their families.
People like you are the cause of the demise of American manufacturing.
It's all about you. GREED

 

[Geezer3d]

Most of the people who work for these companies can't afford to buy stock. They are working to put a roof over the head and food on the table for their families.
People like you are the cause of the demise of American manufacturing.
It's all about you. GREED

Greed or Envy? Either way, anyone who has a pension, 401K, or any kind of retirement savings is invested at least in part in the stock market.

 

[Ktrim]

Who's working in Mexico anyway. They're all here

 

[D2Cat]

Most of the people who work for these companies can't afford to buy stock. They are working to put a roof over the head and food on the table for their families.
People like you are the cause of the demise of American manufacturing.
It's all about you. GREED

How do most people buy stock? They worked a similar job, just like the guys on the line that you say are ..."working to put a roof over the head and food on the table for their families".

They work maybe two jobs, They don't have a lot of toys. They spend less then they make. They set aside a little here and there and invest it. It's not about greed, it's about time. Use the rule of 72 to your advantage and quit whining.

 

[Ktrim]

How do most people buy stock? They worked a similar job, just like the guys on the line that you say are ..."working to put a roof over the head and food on the table for their families".

They work maybe two jobs, They don't have a lot of toys. They spend less then they make. They set aside a little here and there and invest it. It's not about greed, it's about time. Use the rule of 72 to your advantage and quit whining.

 

[NCL4701]

Most of the people who work for these companies can't afford to buy stock. They are working to put a roof over the head and food on the table for their families.
People like you are the cause of the demise of American manufacturing.
It's all about you. GREED

Sale of stock is one of the primary means of capitalization for publicly traded companies. Without people buying stock, companies can’t invest in buildings, R&D, personnel. It is not possible to source all the funding needed for expansion and maintenance of business operations from cash flow in combination with debt from bank loans even if the company is large enough to supplement debt by issuing bonds.

With stock sale, unlike debt, the company doesn’t have any obligation to repay anything. However, the buyers buy with the expectation that there will be some financial reward for tying up their money. Otherwise there is no motive to buy.

I suppose there could be an argument that’s where the greed comes in. If companies such as JD were viewed as charities to provide jobs rather than profit generators, stock purchasers wouldn’t expect anything in return for their donation. I would suggest the vast majority of stock holders are people who can’t afford to make charitable donations to profit motivated corporations so they limit their charitable donations to charities and expect to profit from investments in profit motivated corporations. Without a profit motive, not much stock would be sold.

Some of that payoff may be in the form of dividends (kind of a profit sharing) and some in appreciation of value. Doesn’t always pay off, which is why the potential return has to be higher than a near no-risk return such as T-bills. The vast majority of stock owners in the U.S. are individuals who buy mutual funds as part of a 401K or SEP plan. Those workers at a JD factory are typical U.S. stockholders and without them, companies like JD can’t finance growth and innovation.

To put a new tractor on a dealer lot, it requires workers in factories. It also requires investors to front the money to build the factory and pay the worker before the first tractor rolls off the line. Remove the investor or the worker, either one, and the tractor doesn’t get built. Not specific to anyone here or anywhere else but I don’t generally hear any negativity toward that necessary factory worker so I’ve never understood the occasional negativity toward the equally necessary investor.

 

[Speed25]

thankfully they are doing something.

As an owner (shareholder) of Deere my stocks are down about 10% on the year. IE: I lost 10% of all my money in the company.

They have to do something to stop the under performance / low productivity / bleeding out the shareholders.

I don't care if the CEO makes 5 or 10 or 100X as long as the company gets run properly and starts increasing in value for the owner.

View attachment 130711

Maybe this explains some of the losses. This is another part of the local expansion here in NC- https://www.deere.com/en/news/all-news/deere-kreisel-batteries-north-carolina/

Jumping on the battery bandwagon like many automakers did, with most of them losing a LOT of money in doing so in the past few years.

 

[DustyRusty]

Most of the people who work for these companies can't afford to buy stock. They are working to put a roof over the head and food on the table for their families.
People like you are the cause of the demise of American manufacturing.
It's all about you. GREED

you are greedy because you expect to get paid more each year. I know that because that is the American way. You want more time off and more money at the end of the week.

 

[jyoutz]

Who's working in Mexico anyway. They're all here

Have you been to Mexico? I have. The people in the larger cities are affluent or middle class with good jobs and no need to come here. Most who come here are the rural poor.

 

[NCL4701]

Maybe this explains some of the losses. This is another part of the local expansion here in NC- https://www.deere.com/en/news/all-news/deere-kreisel-batteries-north-carolina/

Jumping on the battery bandwagon like many automakers did, with most of them losing a LOT of money in doing so in the past few years.

Greeeaaaat…..

JD battery plant in Kernersville. Toyota battery plant in rural Randolph County. McMansion’s popping up like toadstools encircling our little patch of trees and meadows. Sometimes I think we should find a place where the bears outnumber the people, move there, and let the developers have this place. 🫤

 

[mikester]

thankfully they are doing something.

As an owner (shareholder) of Deere my stocks are down about 10% on the year. IE: I lost 10% of all my money in the company.

They have to do something to stop the under performance / low productivity / bleeding out the shareholders.

I don't care if the CEO makes 5 or 10 or 100X as long as the company gets run properly and starts increasing in value for the owner.

View attachment 130711

The book value of your stocks is what you paid for them. You only lose money if you sell the stocks at a loss.

Think in terms of owing a piece of a profitable legitimate business that pays you a regular dividend out of its profits because you are a fractional part owner.

I'd be more pissed if I was a Tesla shareholder paying Elon $50+B bonus reward for a business that has lost 30% of its speculative "value" in the past year as it doesn't pay its shareholders anything out of its virtual profits. Mind as well play roulette at the casino if you enjoy watching the house take your money. At least you get "free" booze while you get hosed.

 

[Speed25]

The book value of your stocks is what you paid for them. You only lose money if you sell the stocks at a loss.

Think in terms of owing a piece of a profitable legitimate business that pays you a regular dividend out of its profits because you are a fractional part owner.

I'd be more pissed if I was a Tesla shareholder paying Elon $50+B bonus reward for a business that has lost 30% of its speculative "value" in the past year as it doesn't pay its shareholders anything out of its virtual profits. Mind as well play roulette at the casino if you enjoy watching the house take your money. At least you get "free" booze while you get hosed.

Anyone with a lick of common sense knows that Tesla stock isn't worth anywhere near as much as the current price and hasn't been for a LONG time. They should be thanking Elon for a great ride up and exit the train. He's made shareholders ridiculous amounts of money over the years and is fully worth the compensation he's requesting for that reason alone. I personally have no interest in Tesla and have never held the stock as it doesn't pass the smell test to me.