The John Deere pavilion in Moline. [Illinois Office of Tourism] 

About 600 Illinois and Iowa John Deere employees are set to lose their jobs this summer as the agriculture giant cuts back production and transfers jobs out of the country.  

The Moline-based company also sits in the heart of Illinois’ 17th Congressional District — the state’s only competitive congressional district where voters demand moderacy from candidates and economic issues are closely watched by heartland residents. 

John Deere began laying off employees in Illinois and Iowa last month and layoffs are expected to last through the summer. The company laid off 120 employees at the end of June at the company’s seeding and cylinder facility in Moline after announcing earlier in the month they were closing a manufacturing facility in Dubuque, Iowa and shifting those jobs to Mexico. The company is now expected to lay off another 280 employees in Illinois and 310 employees in Iowa by the end of August, the Associated Press reported. This follows 225 layoffs by the company in Illinois last year.  

The company has cited poor earnings reports as the reason for the layoffs. The AP reported the company saw revenue decline 15 percent in May’s quarterly report, which marked the third straight quarter of declining revenue. The company also pointed to declining demand as farmers put off new equipment purchases as agriculture prices decline and rising production costs.  

However, Rep. Gregg Johnson (D-East Moline) told The Daily Line the company has assured him there will be no plants closed in Illinois.  

Polling for 2024 elections shows the economy is a top issue for voters. A Pew Research poll early this year found 73 percent of Americans say the economy is the most important issue in the 2024 election. But that could be a problem for President Joe Biden and his party as the most recent Harvard-Harris poll found only 38 percent of voters approve of Biden’s handling of the economy.   

Further trends in Gallup polls show 49 percent of Americans believe now is a good time to find a job (down from a high of 74 percent during Biden’s fist year), 48 percent believe the economy is in poor condition (up from 31 percent in Biden’s second month) and 69 percent believe the economy is getting worse.   

In the congressional district where incumbent U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, an East Moline Democrat, won by about 4 percentage points in 2022, Republican challenger Joe McGraw is hoping to capitalize on the difficult economic news for Quad Cities residents and the broader national perceptions of the U.S. economy.   

“It’s getting harder and harder to do business in America as a never-ending stream of regulation and inflation takes its toll,” McGraw said in a statement about the layoffs. “Our politicians’ only answers have been speeches and strongly worded letters. They fail to understand that for communities like ours, ‘Made in America’ isn’t some slogan or talking point—it's our livelihoods and our way of life.”  

McGraw did not blame Biden or Sorensen, but the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) pinned the layoffs on the Biden administration.  

“Time and again, Eric Sorensen proves to be ineffective and out of touch,” NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella said in a statement. “Instead of fighting for good paying jobs in Illinois, Sorensen would rather pick fights online about his radical agenda and push Joe Biden's disastrous policies. Now his constituents are paying the heavy price.” 

Sorensen said he is looking for ways to support the laid off union workers. John Deere’s union employees went on a month-long strike in 2021 that ended when the company agreed to immediate 10 percent pay increases.  

“I want every UAW member and worker impacted by these layoffs to know that I have their backs,” Sorensen said in a statement to The Daily Line. “Our UAW members, especially those at UAW Local 865 Harvester Works in East Moline, are some of the best workers in the world, literally building the equipment that feeds and powers the world. My office will be doing everything we can to connect them with the resources they need, like career counseling, resume writing assistance, and more to make sure they land on their feet.” 

Johnson told The Daily Line his office is stepping up to host job fairs and find ways for workers to land jobs.  

“I think the economic impact could be pretty harmful unless we’re able to keep them in our homes here and keep them as consumers in our district,” Johnson said.   

John Deere is one of Illinois’ most historic companies: John Deere the man invented the steel plow that revolutionized farming in the Midwest, and the company has been a fixture in Illinois since the 1840s.   

It was also a founding member of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. IMA CEO Mark Denzler told The Daily Line he believes the impacted workers will be able to bounce back quickly in Illinois’ economy.   

“Every company makes decisions about whether to locate or grow or expand or contract based on a number of factors,” Denzler said.   

There are 600,000 open manufacturing jobs in the United States — more than any time in history — and thousands in Illinois, Denzler said. Though everyone knows the name John Deere and what the company produces, there are more businesses, including in the Quad Cities, that aren’t household names and need workers, he said.  

“While you have iconic global companies in Illinois, you have a ton of small and midsized companies” that are looking for employees, Denzler said.   

Illinois has taken steps year after year under Pritzker to attract new businesses to the state, particularly focusing on manufacturing, clean energy and emerging technologies. Pritzker claimed a major victory last fall when Stellantis decided to reopen its Belvidere facility to manufacture electric vehicle batteries after intense behind-the-scenes discussions with the White House and United Auto Workers (UAW), who also represent employees at John Deere. The jobs created backed by incentives from the state were even touted as a victory for Biden during his State of the Union address this year.   

Last month the governor signed another round of business incentives valued at nearly $300 million. These included an expansion of the Rivers Edge Redevelopment Zone to include Moline, East Moline and Rock Island. The program provides a variety of tax incentives for businesses, though most are unrelated to job creation. The one credit for hiring in the program only applies to businesses that establish operations at a property in the zone since 2006.  

“As the governor of Iowa continues to make overt plays for our businesses and a seemingly endless stream of development happens in the cornfields across the Mississippi River from us, we need this tool and we promise to put it to good use bringing businesses, good paying jobs and helping our community reach its full potential,” Moline Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati  said at a news conference with Pritzker.     

Johnson said Iowa is doing a lot right on the business front that could be emulated in Illinois, but he wants to keep both the jobs and residents of Illinois impacted by the John Deere layoffs on the east side of the Mississippi River.  

“Now we have another way to lure in contracts and put people to work,” Johnson said of the tax credit expansion. “[Rayapati] is right; I do think Iowa likes to take advantage of the situation where they might be more business friendly. I do think we are changing that narrative in Illinois.”  

According to data compiled by Goods Jobs First, a union-backed organization that tracks business incentives, most of John Deere’s tax credits have come from Iowa over the last quarter-century, with the Hawkeye state supplying $271 million of credits compared to Illinois’ $5.9 million.   

The company did receive a $4.9 million of credits from Illinois’ EDGE Program in 2021, which provides corporates credits for job creation.   

The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity "provides a variety of rapid response services to support workers affected by layoffs," Pritzker spokesperson Alex Gough said in an email. "In addition, Illinois has a variety of robust incentives, programs and resources for business attraction and retention. These include tax credit programs across a variety of industries, training grants for businesses and capital grants to support with infrastructure. The State’s doors are always open to businesses looking to expand as well as companies seeking retention-related resources."

Denzler said IMA members do ask him what Illinois is doing to help existing businesses like John Deere grow and keep jobs in Illinois. He pointed to Illinois’ competitive advantage in education, central location and access to water, including the Quad Cities’ proximity to the Mississippi and Rock rivers. But most importantly, he said businesses that have left Illinois have reported back to IMA that other states do not have as robust of a workforce as Illinois.  

“If you don’t have the workforce, you can’t produce the products,” Denzler said on what incentivizes businesses to stay in Illinois.