Caterpillar is laying off 75 employees at a central Illinois foundry and may close the plant for two months late this year if demand for its engines doesn't improve, according to a union official.
Rick Doty, president of United Auto Workers Local 974, said the 75 workers at the foundry in Mapleton will be laid off Monday. The town is about 10 miles south of Peoria, where Caterpillar is based. Doty said the company also has tentative plans to close the foundry and idle its 525 remaining workers in November and December.
Caterpillar spokesman Jim Dugan said the company spoke with employees about job reductions; he declined to discuss specifics.
The construction equipment-maker has laid off more than 30,000 workers worldwide during the current recession.
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