Equipment manufacturer mum on Racine layoffs; lawmakers criticize company’s reported actions

Agricultural and industrial equipment manufacturer CNH Industrial is reportedly poised to lay off more than 25% of its workforce in Racine County, according to public statements by two lawmakers this week.

The company, headquartered in England, did not respond Friday to a request for comment about reports that 200 or more workers are in the process of being laid off at its Racine County plant, where about 700 people are employed.

This week, however, the office of Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, released a letter Baldwin has sent to the CEO of CNH, Scott Wine, based in suburban Chicago, criticizing the layoffs and stating some are already underway.

“I am deeply disappointed by your recent decision to lay off over 200 workers at your facility in Racine, Wisconsin,” Baldwin wrote in the letter dated Tuesday.

The letter also stated that CNH is “threatening further layoffs in Racine, possibly reducing force down to as low as 150 workers.”

The company is the descendent of J.I. Case, founded in Racine in 1842. Its successor company, Case IH, merged with New Holland, another farm equipment manufacturer, in 1999, becoming CNH and also known as Case-New Holland. In 2013 the company merged with Fiat Industrial.

“Agricultural machinery has been made in Racine by your workers for over 175 years—they have made Case-New Holland into the international manufacturing powerhouse it is today,” Baldwin wrote.

On Thursday, state Rep. Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) issued a statement also criticizing the reported downsizing. There have been “rumors of significant layoffs” in Racine for several months, and inquiries about the rumors “have been rebuffed by CNH,” her office noted.

“It is simply unacceptable that leadership at Case New Holland is choosing to lay off hundreds of workers in Racine in order to cut costs even after their recent strong financial performance and increasing pay for their CEO,” Neubauer said. “CNH has been a part of our community for over 175 years — creating top of the line machinery and providing good wages for thousands of households in Racine County. Our friends and neighbors in Racine County helped generate record profits for CNH — they deserve so much better from their leadership.”

Neubauer’s statement noted that the United Auto Workers union has been engaged in “efforts to keep as many jobs as possible in our community.”

In her letter, Baldwin cited the company’s most recent annual report, which declared record earnings. She also highlighted the compensation Wine, the CEO, has received over the last three years: $44 million in 2021, $22 million in 2022 and $18 million in 2023, calling it “more money than you paid to all of the workers in Racine — the ones you have now told they are expensive to invest in — combined.”

Baldwin noted that Wisconsin’s plant closing law requires employers to notify the state Department of Workforce Development of workforce reductions affecting 25% or more employees at least 60 days before they take effect. Notification triggers funding that the state agency uses to assist laid-off workers. As of Friday the company had not filed a notice with the state about any planned workforce reduction.

UAW members in Wisconsin and Iowa ended an eight-month strike against CNH in January 2023, agreeing to a new contract after mediation by then-U.S. Labor Secretary Martin Walsh.

The Milwaukee Business Journal reported that Wine told investment analysts on a call in February that CNH Industrial was forecasting its agricultural products sales would fall 8% to 12% in 2024. The company told investors in March that in 2023 it started reducing “headcount cost reductions” by 5%, the Business Journal reported.