UAW Rips John Deere For Mass Layoffs After $43-B Stock Buybacks

The United Auto Workers (UAW) has condemned the manufacturing company John Deere over recent mass layoffs at factories in Iowa and Illinois, arguing that the company's strong profits, lavish handouts to investors, and exorbitant CEO pay invalidate claims that the job cuts and outsourcing were necessary, Jake Johnson of Common Dreams reported for Raw Story.

The UAW represents more than 10,000 John Deere employees across the US. I Photo: John Deere Facebook

"John Deere's reckless layoffs and job cuts are an insult to the working-class people of Iowa and Illinois, and the UAW will fight for justice for our members and communities affected by these moves," the union said.

"Let's be clear: There is no need for Deere to kill good American jobs and outsource them to Mexico for cheap labor. The company is forecast to make $7 billion in profit this year. CEO John May's total compensation for 2023 was $26.8 million."

The union further noted that John Deere, which is headquartered in Illinois, has spent more than $43 billion on investor-enriching stock buybacks and dividends over the past 20 years, leaving "no question that there is enough profit to go around" and that the company "can afford to keep good jobs in Iowa and Illinois."

"Corporate greed means more to them than the lives of working-class people in Ankeny, Waterloo, Ottumwa, or Dubuque," the UAW argued.

"And our government lets them get away with it, with broken trade laws that don't protect workers on either side of the border."

The union added, "When a company is doing as well as Deere, on the hard work of those UAW members who make the product that generates those profits, there is absolutely no reason for job cuts, layoffs, outsourcing, or cutbacks."

The UAW represents more than 10,000 John Deere employees across the US and, in 2021, held a five-week strike against the company over inadequate wages and benefits.