MOLINE, Ill. — Former John Deere workers are looking to file wrongful termination lawsuits following July layoffs, with a law firm claiming that Deere targeted older employees.
The potential lawsuits follow layoffs of hundreds of Deere employees in July, including nearly 300 salaried workers at John Deere World Headquarters in Moline.
News 8 spoke with Megan Bonanni and Kevin Carlson, lawyers with Michigan-based Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers, who said there is a similarity between the Deere layoffs and the 2019 Ford Motor Company layoffs, which resulted in wrongful termination lawsuits.
"The common thread between Deere and Ford is that they both relied on a consulting company called Boston Consulting Group or BCG to implement the termination program,” Carlson said.
According to Bonanni, the wrongful termination lawsuits with Ford were resolved.
An analysis of the layoffs and severance packages concluded that age was a factor in the layoffs.
"We have had the opportunity to analyze that data and the analysis is concluding that age was a factor and we believe it was age as well as proximity to retirement milestones and also receiving future health insurance benefits," Bonanni said.
The lawyers could not confirm how many Deere employees reached out to them and said that if lawsuits are filed, they will be individual, not class action.
News 8 has reached out to Deere for comment on the matter.