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.
If you’re getting water inside, Jchannel is probably the least of your concerns. Something isn’t sealed correctly. Unfortunately, if you have water getting in, you have water in your wall. Even if you seal the window, you could end up with a mold issue.
If it was me, I’d pull the window, ensure all flashing and housewrap is in place, the reseat the window in a thick bead of silicone. Assuming the window is still in good shape. Otherwise, a new window is needed. Once the window is in place, trim, jchannel, and siding would be put back.
Once the window is properly installed, I’d focus on the inside. Pull the trim and drywall around the window, letting it air out for a day then coat the inside sheeting with mold killing primer. New insulation would be added before new drywall is put in. Then mud, sand, paint, and reinstall the trim.
It’s a decent amount of work, but not insurmountable. My concern is, if it was installed incorrectly, chances are, your other windows were too. I’m not trying to be doom and gloom here, just trying to forewarn you. It’s something to keep an eye on.
All of this is assuming the problem isn’t something like a window left open or something like that.