Caterpillar Announces Big Job Cuts

Industrial giant Caterpillar announced recently it plans to cut as many as 10,000 jobs. The cuts are part of a restructuring plan in response to what the company calls “a convergence of challenging marketplace conditions in key regions and industry sectors—namely in mining and energy.”

This represents the third consecutive year of sales declines for Caterpillar, Reuters reported, with the trend expected to continue. If the loss that Cat executives project for 2016 materializes, it would be the first four-year decline in the company’s 90-year history.

Caterpillar reported that in August, rolling sales to the Asia/Pacific region were down 29% over the prior year, with sales to customers in the resources industry dropping by 46% in the region.

In a statement from the company, it said Caterpillar was facing “continued weakness in key industries,” which it expected would lead to a fourth consecutive year of sales decline.

“We currently expect the decline in sales and revenues in 2016 will occur in all three of our large segments—Construction Industries, Energy & Transportation and Resource Industries—with the most significant decline in the oil and gas portion of our Energy and Transportation segment,” the statement said. S