Update: This story from February (just came across it) quotes a senior Cat executive as being “bullish” on the future of his company’s mining operations. Let’s hope he’s right, and these layoffs are indeed temporary.
Bad news for South Milwaukee …
Check out coverage in the Business Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. From the Business Journal story …
Caterpillar Inc. told South Milwaukee employees Thursday morning that it plans to lay off 40 percent of its union work force there by June, or between 250 and 300 production workers, a local union official said. …
Fox 6 Milwaukee, The Business Journal’s TV partner, first reported the news.
Local United Steelworkers official Ross Winklbauer confirmed the company’s announcement to The Business Journal, after he spoke with Kevin Jaskie, president of USW Local 1343 and a Caterpillar employee.
The union represents about 810 workers at Caterpillar’s South Milwaukee plant. The Peoria, Ill.-based equipment manufacturer (NYSE: CAT) also has its global mining equipment unit based in Oak Creek.
The company is citing lower sales as the reason for the cuts, Winklbauer said. Caterpillar said this month that global retail sales of its machines dropped 13 percent in the three-month rolling period through February, compared with the same period a year earlier, according to MarketWatch.
But Winklbauer questioned the timing of the layoff announcement, with labor talks scheduled to begin Tuesday. The union’s contract expires at the end of April.
I’ll post more details when I get them.
And post your comments below!
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