• NegativeInf@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Profit doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make the line go up! It’s a failing company because line didn’t go up! Tractors aren’t the product. Only line is product. All hail line. If we pray to line, perhaps line go up?

    • Optional@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Yes, yes, now: about those executive paychecks. We feel $27M per year isn’t competitive. We’re thinking more like 500M. To start.

      • Rhaedas@fedia.io
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        3 months ago

        They wouldn’t use the word competitive though. They use that word for the lower employees, and its meaning is “we’d pay you lower if we could”. Well actually I guess for a few hundred they did just that by going to zero. Nothing can be done though, line is all. The joke at my work is about the company stock price. All praise stock. We don’t see anything from it, but it’s glorious.

    • Asafum@feddit.nl
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      3 months ago

      We ONLY made 10 BILLION in profit!?

      WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK JOHNSON!? We made 10 last year! This year is supposed to be 12 billion!

      YOU’RE ALL FIRED!

      The inner workings of a Totally Sane Business Economy™

    • Samvega@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      3 months ago

      Humanity is not important. Humanity must sacrifice itself for The Line.

      The Line will continue to Go Up, whether or not humanity is around to see it. All hail the Line.

    • Fedizen@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      10 to 15 yrs later: “Line no longer go up! We need bailout!, if no bailout, line go down and politicians fired!”

    • The Pantser@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Yup sadly with how the Crockmarket works a company can fail because the line didn’t go up. If it doesn’t go up investors will pull out and kill a company but this thinking is bullshit because as soon as a company starts to dip some will sell but others will step in and then the new line is a bit lower but then it can go up without layoffs.

    • cheese_greater@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Remember that trope about AI destroying humanity due to mistakenly trying to over-optimize for bent paperclips

      Turns out it was actually always about the lines humanity itself could raise along the way

    • grrgyle@slrpnk.net
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      3 months ago

      Me, imitating the pose of a thoughtful looking person I saw in a magazine: have we tried AI the line? Like make AI do the line, and me have more money? Need more money for AI implement line AI money make?

  • Franklin@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    If anyone hasn’t watched the latest Wendover Productions video, I highly recommend it.

    It covers John Deere’s transition into a technology company and details why they’re laying off a lot workers. Link

    • driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br
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      3 months ago

      I think they’re going “fabless”, and focusing on the automation technology and leaving the manufacturing to third parties.

      • maynarkh@feddit.nl
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        3 months ago

        Wonder if you could leave the bs out and order directly from the suppliers.

        These guys are planning on running a negative added value company.

        • greenskye@lemm.ee
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          3 months ago

          They’re selling the software that makes all the shit actually work. So you’d get a tractor with a bunch of processing power and have to program it yourself.

          • yeahiknow3@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            3 months ago

            I’m willing to bet we could get open source software that works way better.

            Likewise, if Microsoft stopped making Windows and everyone had to switch to something open source, the quality of personal computing would go through the roof.

            • greenskye@lemm.ee
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              3 months ago

              Also, I think it’d just be smarter to nationalize the tech. Have the government bid out new advancements and maintenance, but the actual IP is owned by the government. It’s wild that we’re letting a single company control effectively 80% of our agriculture. Huge national security risk.

            • greenskye@lemm.ee
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              3 months ago

              You’d need an organization to manage the satellite assets at least. That’s presumably the biggest barrier to overcome. They have a custom gps network specifically built for them

    • 11111one11111@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      $10 billion might be record breaking but not the record breaking you are thinking of. 2017 was the last time they posted profits around $10 billion or less.

      • yeahiknow3@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        3 months ago

        If a company makes 10 billion dollars, they should be able to hire more people or pay everyone more. Instead that money is siphoned by unemployed bums who have absolutely nothing to do with the company - the “investors.”

        If this system weren’t already in place, we would consider it completely comical.

        • 11111one11111@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Except their profits need to also cover: Reinvestment in the Business: This includes spending on research and development, upgrading equipment, expanding operations, and improving infrastructure.

          Debt Repayment: Reducing existing debt to strengthen the company’s financial position.

          Dividends: Distributing a portion of profits to shareholders as dividends.

          Share Buybacks: Purchasing the company’s own shares to reduce the number of outstanding shares and increase the value of remaining shares.

          Employee Compensation: Providing bonuses, raises, benefits, and other non-salary incentives to employees.

          Mergers and Acquisitions: Acquiring or merging with other companies to expand market reach and capabilities.

          Savings and Reserves: Setting aside funds for future investments or as a buffer against economic downturns.

          Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Investing in community projects, environmental sustainability, and other social initiatives.

          Marketing and Advertising: Increasing brand awareness and market presence through marketing campaigns.

          Technology Upgrades: Investing in new technologies to enhance efficiency and productivity.

          To name a few.

                • 11111one11111@lemmy.world
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                  3 months ago

                  I don’t trust it as far as I can throw it for things I am uninformed on and I do not think any of these AI models are going to change the world the way people are hoping. However, as a tool for saving time I think they’re great. Prompted properly of topics you are able to audit for accuracy and I’ll let them do all the tasks in the world lol. I’ll admit I felt guilty as fuck as soon as I saw you call me out on it lol but for how spot on you were I had to give you the credit and confirmation you were 100% accurate 🍻

          • piecat@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Is that what they should do? Abso-fucking-lutely

            But is that what any publicly traded company does??

  • darkmarx@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    I get why people are upset by the headline. It is written to provoke anger. Unfortunately, anger at the wrong issue.

    I understand the argument that a large company can absorb the cost of workers they don’t currently. Though it’s unrealistic to expect them too.

    I lived in the Quad Cities for a number of years. A large majority of people I know, both family and friends, worked for either Deere or Case IH - until they closed the plant in East Moline.

    Layoffs are a yearly thing. Deere, Case, Caterpillar, they all hire a bunch of people in the beginning of the year and lay them off towards the end. It’s typically around August or September, and they announce it in July. Everyone in the Quad Cities knows it. It is expected. Sometime early next year, they are going to hire these jobs back. The people who take these jobs go into it knowing this is going to happen.

    It can suck being let go and some people might struggle with it. Those who are used to this cycle treat it as a well-paying seasonal job. Many already have something else lined up. This is only a single, anecdotal, data point, so take it with a grain of salt… one of my uncles works for Deere and is a bus driver for one of the school districts. He knows Deere is going to let him go by fall so he has the driving job for the rest of the year. In spring, he will go back to Deere.

    Perspective is also important. Deere has somewhere between 80k and 85k employees. They are laying off < 1000 based on this story. That’s the equivalent of a small, 80 person company hiring 1 person to get through the holiday season, then laying them off in January. Next year, they will do it again.

    Headlines like this are nothing more than a distraction from real issues. For example, why does any company have multi-billions of dollars in profit to begin with? It just means they are charging more than they need to. The farmers who buy Deere equipment then have to charge more for their produce. Which means the stores have to charge more. Which means we pay more for our food. Deere’s profits are leading to higher food prices for everyone. To me, that is more of an issue than 1/80th of their workforce being in a hire/layoff cycle.

    • kandoh@reddthat.com
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      3 months ago

      Here’s the deal: these people aren’t being laid off because the company is losing money, they are being laid off because the company is not making as much money as it predicted it would last quarter.

      Now, not making as much money as you thought while still being profitable is not a bad thing except for one person: the c-level executive.

      The c-level has profit targets he needs to hit to unlock a huge bonus. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are at stake for him, that one individual.

      So these hundreds of people aren’t losing their jobs so the company can thrive and be healthy. They’re losing their jobs so one person can make hundreds of thousands of dollars more on top of their existing salary which was always guaranteed to them.

      • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        No, it’s also bad for shareholders. Shareholders need to see the numbers go up in order to get returns on their investment, either in the form of buybacks or dividends. A company that isn’t seen as worth investing in will show a decline in share price, causing shareholders to lose money.

        • explodicle@sh.itjust.works
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          3 months ago

          Would the investors not risk adjust? Layoffs mean the company’s output is shrinking, not growing. They get a short term savings at the cost of long term productivity.

          • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Investors buy on the rumours and sell on the news. They make money as long as the numbers go up when they’re long and down when they’re short.

            I think John Deere is seen as a pretty dominant company in its industry. It locks in tons of farmers into its repair/service program.

            I don’t know anything about the specifics of the layoffs but I’d imagine the reasoning was communicated to investors.

      • Franklin@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        WHOOPS I didn’t mean to reply to you lol, just to the post.

        If anyone hasn’t watched the latest wendover productions video I highly recommend it.

        It covers John deere’s transition into a technology company and details why they’re laying off a lot of their factory workers. Link

    • CurlyWurlies4All@slrpnk.net
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      3 months ago

      You know it didn’t use to be this way? There was a time when you could be ‘A GE man’. You could work at a company for your whole life. You would not get laid off and rehired whenever it was convenient for the company, rather they’d show you some loyalty and you’d show them the same, this would be backed by employee profit sharing schemes, incentivising higher performance.

      The heart of this deal between workers and management was ripped out when management chased higher share valuations, with stock bonuses for themselves instead of workers. It became cheaper to fire 1/80th of the workforce because you could break up unions that way, management could write off all those salaries to bump up the quarterly earnings, increasing the stock price and earning themselves bonuses at the expense of workers who as you said, just learn to get by.

    • GoodEye8@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      You’re looking at it from the perspective of the customer, but another aspect to get angry about is what is completely insane to someone who doesn’t live in the US. How the fuck can a company hire people who they’re going to let go in less than a year, and do that year and year? Where I live that’s illegal. The government will grab the company by the balls if they do that.

      If you’re a company and you want to fire someone you first have to give a good reason why their position is being removed, then you need a good reason why you can’t give them a different position within the company and finally, when you’ve actually fired the person, you need to give them a government regulated severance package, which is usually multiple months pay in advance. And you can’t fire on the spot, you need to give at minimum a 2 week notice. In case you didn’t notice, those are rules of you just want to fire a single person, layoffs have even more rules. In short, where I live companies use layoffs as a last resort because it’s guaranteed to lose them money.

      The entire hire/layoff cycle you take as something normal is something not normal to me. So this is a reminder to Americans that it is not normal and you can demand for more.

      • sep@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        2 weeks! It is 3 months in norway for most work. This is mutual so it works both ways.
        Seasonal/contract work is different tho, they know the start and end date when signing.

    • AwesomeLowlander@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      3 months ago

      Though it’s unrealistic to expect them too.

      Why is that an unrealistic expectation? That’s how it works in many countries with decent worker rights

    • madcaesar@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Damn it I came in here to rage… Then read your post. Very well said and reasoned. Thank you for this perspective.

      Maybe it’s just my feed but lately all my posts are just rage/anger baits… I want some good educational news damn it!

  • circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org
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    3 months ago

    The need for year-over-year growth is ultimately strangling the system. At the moment it is easy to lay a bunch of people off and claim that growth. Eventually (at some point in the future), it won’t be mathematically possible unless the C-suite starts taking pay cuts, or they at least start eschewing their crazy bonuses. Expect them to milk that for good press (“These forward-thinking CEOs are dumping the bonuses for… insert any random bullshit here!”) or other such marketing nonsense.

    Eventually, it will stop, when the system no longer functions at all. Infinite year-over-year growth across the board is an impossibility.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Not good enough for Republicans. John Deere has to abandon any and all programs to have a diverse workforce.

    • sunzu@kbin.run
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      3 months ago

      I am taking they fired DEI grifters then…

      Who is crying over that lol fuck those clowns.

        • sunzu@kbin.run
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          My work made sit a through “seminar” one time because exec team is all white…

          They though hiring this trash and wasting my time will fix the perception of all white exec team…

          It did not haha but now I know what DEI actually means tho

          Where is your evidence this shit has use beyond corporate PR cirlc jerk?

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Ah, I see. Anectode, the plural of data.

            Clearly because the specific people who your work made you sit through being pointless means all DEI everywhere is a scam.

            • sunzu@kbin.run
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              3 months ago

              You ain’t even got an anecdote tho

              What data are u relying on…

              Actually what is this data even prove?

              • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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                3 months ago

                Sorry, that’s not how the burden of proof works. You made the claim that DEI is a scam. It’s not my job to prove that’s true.

          • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Sounds like you should blame your executive team for using DEI as a prop rather than blaming DEI for not being some magical cure all that would force your executives do something beyond token gestures

            • sunzu@kbin.run
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              3 months ago

              Cute of you to assume corpos and DEI grifters do anything beyond a charade haha

              • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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                3 months ago

                I also have a job believe it or not. We build analytical tools that are stratifiable by different types of demographics because not everyone has uniform access to healthcare. It’s a real thing even if you don’t want it to be.

                • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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                  3 months ago

                  I’m not curious enough to ask them, but I am mildly curious what they think the solution should be to get a diverse workforce. I’m guessing it’s “don’t have one.”

          • AbidanYre@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Dear God. If your writing is indicative of what made the cut, I’d hate to see who they let go.

  • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
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    3 months ago

    We’re living through the shittiest part of late-stage capitalism. It’ll never be good for typical people again.

    • FlavoredButtHair@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Sorry to hear this nobody deserves to be laid off. I hope you have a lot of money stashed away.

      Laying off employees should be illegal. Fuck greedy dirty executives and CEOs.

      • Bizzle@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        It’s actually not that bad because I’m in the UAW. So contractually, Deere still pays me “subpay” for almost a year (way less, but it’s something) and I keep my health insurance for 6 months. I also get callback rights for 3 years and I’m one of the first like 50 guys to get called back. I heard from a guy that would get fired for saying so that we’ll be back about the first of the year, so I’m just pretending it’s a long vacation.

        I feel really bad for some of my salaried friends, they have no protections. They don’t get subpay, they don’t keep their insurance, and they definitely don’t get callback rights. Those poor bastards don’t even know who’s getting canned yet.

        Meanwhile Deere spent billions buying back stock and sending our jobs to fuckin Mexico. When we went on strike I said we should open negotiations by rolling the CEO’s severed head across the table. Everyone said “God damn Bizzle, you ever consider chilling?” but now look, they think they can do whatever they want. No accountability. Welcome to the “Land of the Free”, as long as you’re fabulously wealthy.

  • BigMacHole@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    I’m MUCH Happier with my Tax Dollars going to these Job Creators laying off Workers then to Feed Starving American Children!

    -Fiscally Responsible Jesus Humping Republicans!

  • muse@fedia.io
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    3 months ago

    I don’t know about y’all, but I’m getting a hunger. Particularly for The Rich.