Deere announces job cuts to tackle slowing farm equipment demand

Deere & Co said on Wednesday it would cut an unspecified number of production and salaried jobs to save costs as it grapples with a downturn in farm equipment demand.

The cuts will reduce “overlap and redundancy in roles and responsibilities”, Deere disclosed in a filing, following media reports from the past week about layoffs.

The news comes weeks after the company trimmed its annual profit forecast for the second time and projected steeper declines in sales of large agriculture equipment.

Lower crop prices are leaving agriculture equipment sellers with an excess of unsold tractors and combines, leading some to offer discounts and suspend new orders.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has forecast farm income would slide 25.5 per cent to $116.1 billion (C$159.1 billion) this year from 2023.

In Canada, net cash income is forecast to decline 14 per cent to C$21.3 billion as cash receipts are forecast to fall slightly, with expenses modestly increasing, Agriculture Agri-Food Canada said earlier this year.

—Reporting for Reuters by Abhijith Ganapavaram and Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru, with files from Glacier FarmMedia