New John Deere layoffs follow Illinois losing 1,124 jobs in May

Declining demand has John Deere planning 600 layoffs, including 280 in Illinois, by the end of August. Illinois already had companies planning to cut 1,124 jobs in May, hitting janitorial services providers, collection agencies and packaging industries.

Deere and Co. announced July 1 it was cutting 600 jobs, with 280 of those at its Moline headquarters, because of dropping demand for its agriculture equipment. But those 280 Illinois jobs will be around until the end of August while 1,124 cuts at other companies were announced in May.

The bulk of Illinois’ May job losses – 753 of the 1,124 layoffs – were to hit Chicago, according to Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification reports.

Chicago job losses were led by 538 layoffs at Aramark Facility Services LLC, a janitorial company serving Chicago Public Schools. Other Chicago losses were at Genpact LLC and Lagunitas Brewing Co. The companies mainly cited lost contracts or business slowing as driving their staff cuts.

Illinois employers are mandated to file monthly mass layoff reports under the WARN Act. While the reports serve as a gauge for job trends, they are not a perfect indicator of broader economic health.

Among the reasons for layoffs, 759 workers were affected by standard layoffs, while 237 were impacted by complete company closures. The reason for 128 layoffs was not reported.

Business rankings found Illinois has become a more hostile operating environment for business as most of its neighboring states have improved or stayed the same.

Illinois ranked 37th in the nation for business tax climate, down eight spots from 2018 ranks, according to the Tax Foundation’s 2024 State Business Tax Climate report.

Reducing mass layoffs in the future starts with state lawmakers adopting policies that make Illinois more attractive to businesses and workers today. Some good places to begin would be lowering Illinois’ No. 2 in the nation average property tax rate, lowering the nation’s second-highest corporate income taxes and an 8.65% maximum unemployment insurance tax rate.