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(Undated) -- John Deere is looking overseas to try to maintain production as the UAW strike continues.
“In the quad cities, combines, the same S-Series combine is built in 3 different factories both in the US, in Brazil, and in Europe. So, we have a supply base that cuts across all three of those,” says Corey Reed, President of Worldwide Agriculture & Turf Division, Production and Precision Ag for John Deere.
Reed tells KCRG TV9 the longer-term objective is to get employees back to work in the U.S. facilities, but that the company needs to meet demands during the harvest season.
“Obviously, we’re 77,000 employees around the world and several thousand of those employees from here in the Midwest, and our other facilities, have stepped up and stepped in,” Reed said. “Our focus has been on keeping those customers up and running and we’ve had a lot of employees step in and do that.”
UAW union members have been on strike for nearly four weeks.
Over 10,000 workers are on the picket line in Iowa, Illinois, and Kansas.