John Deere to Lay Off Workers in Waterloo, Iowa by January

Dec 12, 2024

On Dec. 3, more than 100 John Deere workers in Waterloo, Iowa were told they will be without a job after the holiday season.

According to news reports from KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Dec. 3, more than 100 John Deere workers in Waterloo were told they will be without a job after the holiday season. A total of 112 employees at John Deere Waterloo Works were told their last day would be Jan. 3, 2025, according to a news update published by KCRG-TV anchor and news reporter Rebekah Vaughan.

The news report also noted that in Davenport, 80 workers will also be losing their jobs after the new year. Those layoffs were announced back in October and will take effect on January 3, 2025.

This brings the total layoffs in Waterloo alone to more than 1,000. The news comes just weeks after Deere announced, in Deere's Q4 2024 earnings call Nov. 21, a net income of $7B last year, a 16% decrease from the year before.

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Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?