Laid-Off Waterloo Workers Invited Back to Tractor Plants
WATERLOO, Iowa — John Deere’s announcement that more than 275 Waterloo employees will be recalled has created an unexpected complication for corporate human resources departments: workers apparently remember being laid off.
The company also plans to hire more than 400 additional employees across its manufacturing operations, bringing total callbacks to approximately 1,000 since the downturn began.
According to Deere’s official announcement, all previously laid-off workers in Waterloo, the Quad Cities, Ottumwa and Dubuque have now been asked to return. Approximately 125 remain laid off in the Des Moines area.
Human resources professionals welcomed the announcement, although some expressed concern that returning employees might ask questions about the circumstances surrounding their earlier departures.
“Naturally, we’re delighted to welcome everyone back,” said one personnel specialist. “We just wish they would stop asking whether this is a permanent job or a seasonal emotional experience.”
Employees Introduce Radical Concept of Remembering Things
The traditional American employment relationship runs on a simple principle. A company hires an employee, expects loyalty, promotes a family atmosphere and occasionally explains that the family has decided to eliminate the employee’s position. When business conditions improve, the same employee is enthusiastically welcomed home.
One Waterloo worker compared it to a marriage in which one spouse periodically changes the locks and then invites the other back because the lawn needs mowing.
“Last year I wasn’t essential,” he said. “Now I’m essential again. I’m thinking about asking for a calendar so I know which weeks I’m important.”
Corporate consultants have recommended a new employee-retention program featuring competitive wages, stable schedules and the groundbreaking practice of allowing people to remain employed. Several executives asked for clarification on the final item.
Internal HR Checklist Lists “Employee Recollection” as a Known Risk
A callback checklist circulated within a human resources office and reviewed by this publication contains 22 items. Item 9, “Welcome returning staff warmly,” is checked. Item 14 is labeled “Address Employee Recollection of Prior Separation” and is followed by a blank space where the answer would go.
Item 17 reads, “Avoid phrases such as ‘we’re a family.'” Someone has underlined it twice. Beside item 19, “Confirm parking assignments,” a staff member wrote, “This one we can actually do.”
Text Messages Show Workers Weighing the Offer
Text messages shared by two returning employees, with names removed at their request, show the group chat thread that followed the announcement. The first message reads, “They called.” The second reads, “Who?” The third reads, “All of them.”
One worker later asked the group whether anyone planned to bring up the layoff at orientation. A reply came within seconds: “No. We’re going to bring up the parking.” Another worker answered with a single thumbs-up and a photo of his work boots, which he said had been “waiting by the door since spring.”
Union Representative Says Job Security Now Comes With a Quarterly Expiration Date
Deere’s announcement also referenced preparations for future labor negotiations, a detail that drew attention from workers familiar with the sometimes complicated relationship between industrial management and organized labor. The United Auto Workers, which represents many Deere production employees, has long argued that experienced manufacturing workers carry valuable skills that can’t be replaced by rearranging boxes on an organizational chart.
“We’re glad people are going back to work,” a union representative said. “We’d be even gladder if somebody could tell us what quarter they’re guaranteed through.”
A retired machinist explained that training a skilled employee takes years.
“Training an executive to eliminate that employee takes one afternoon and a PowerPoint presentation.”
Economists acknowledge that manufacturers face changing customer demand and can’t guarantee unlimited employment regardless of market conditions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes employment data for the machinery manufacturing sector, and the line on the chart tends to look like the route up a mountain and back down. Workers understand that businesses have to remain profitable.
They simply question why shared sacrifice so frequently means one group losing its income while another receives a presentation about operational flexibility.
Nevertheless, the callbacks are good news for hundreds of Midwestern families. Returning employees will once again receive paychecks, benefits and the chance to build equipment important to American agriculture.
One worker said he was grateful to return.
“I’m happy they’re bringing us back. I like the job. I like the people.”
He paused before adding one final request.
“Maybe this time the company could remember it likes us, too.”
Five Humorous Observations
- “Employee recollection” is on the checklist as a known risk. Like it’s a bug. You didn’t forget getting laid off, pal. That’s not a bug. That’s a memory. We’ve had those since cave days.
- “Seasonal emotional experience.” Folks, that’s a pumpkin spice latte. A job’s supposed to be a job. It shouldn’t have a limited-time flavor.
- One guy said it’s like a marriage where the spouse changes the locks and then calls you back because the lawn needs mowing. And the sad part is the lawn does need mowing. That’s why you go back.
- Item 17, don’t say “we’re a family.” Well, they’re not wrong. In my family, nobody gets laid off. We just stop talking at Christmas.
- The boots had been waiting by the door since spring. That’s a dog. That’s what a dog does. He’s just a good boy sitting by the door and looking at the knob.