2,000 jobs under threat at Caterpillar in Belgium

[rooster59]

2,000 jobs under threat at Caterpillar in Belgium

Catherine Hardy

 

 

Heavy machinery maker Caterpillar Inc says it could lay off around 2,00 workers employed at its plant in Belgium.

 

The company manufactures heavy plant machinery at the plant at Gosselies.

 

A union representative has told the AFP news agency that the US company has launched a consultation process that will probably result in the closure of the site in the suburbs of Charleroi.

 

The news became public after union representatives left a meeting at the plant at Gosselies on Thursday morning.

Has the company said anything publicly?

 

Not much so far.

 

In a statement, Caterpillar has said it is considering re-allocating its manufacturing to other sites, mainly Grenoble in France and others outside Europe.

 

This implies the 2,000 workers at Charleroi will be made redundant and the site closed.

“Global restructuring and cost reduction plan”

 

 

The statement says the decision comes as part of Caterpillar’s “global plan of restructuring and cost reduction announced in September, 2015”.

 

In September 2015, Caterpillar said it will cut as many as 10,000 jobs by 2018. 20 plants may be closed or consolidated around the world.

 

Around 1,400 jobs had already been cut at Charleroi in 2013.

Difficult economic situation

Caterpillar is the world’s largest manufacturer of heavy construction equipment.

 

It has been hit by the crisis in the mining sector and the global economic downturn.

 

Year-on-year profits were down in July but the company insisted its restructuring plan was bearing fruit.

The post-Brexit effect?

 

 

In July, Caterpillar said that global uncertainty, the vote in Britain to leave the EU and the attempted coup in Turkey had heightened risks, especially in Europe.

 

 

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-09-03

[maoro2013]

Well, General Motors Holden has been producing cars in Australia since 1948 and in 2017 will be finished. Same thing all around, big companies must go for efficiency and also keep friends happy. 

[GOLDBUGGY]

Global Restructuring is just a polite way of saying that they are choosing Cheap Labor over more Expensive Unionized Labor. 

 

Personally I liked it better when you bought a General Electric Refrigerator or a Singer Sewing Machine, and it was actually built in America. Or the Ford Truck that came out of Henry Ford's First and Biggest Manufacturing Plant in Detroit. Now the appliances come from places like China and Detroit is practically a Ghost Town. So what if you have to pay a little bit more for it?

 

I don't mind it so much when some other country takes an invention and vastly improves on that. That seems like fare competition to me. Like Sony in Japan did with the Radio and TV, and with Toyota and Nissan in the small car market, which small was unheard of back then. But to me to take your product and technology to another country, only to get people who have no wage protection but are willing to put it together for you for a lot less money an hour, is one step above Slave Labor.  .  

[Foexie]

Last 5 y they invested 150 mil euro in the factory and Charleroi is known as one of the best factories Caterpillar had.

 

It will take them many machines to build to finance this operation. And they very likely have to pay back alot of tax advantages and more now they leaving so suddenly. Because that was the deal: Belgium give them a very nice tax regime and they give jobs.

 

Accualy more then 5000 peoples will lose their jobs in an area where there is almost no work available. They were the biggest employer around for years.

[chickenslegs]

14 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The post-Brexit effect?

In July, Caterpillar said that global uncertainty, the vote in Britain to leave the EU and the attempted coup in Turkey had heightened risks, especially in Europe.

 

I was against Brexit, but I am getting a little bit tired of hearing that it can be blamed for every negative occurrence in the UK (and now even in Belgium).

[bassman]

35 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

 

I was against Brexit, but I am getting a little bit tired of hearing that it can be blamed for every negative occurrence in the UK (and now even in Belgium).

 

Your absolutely right, those that are not for an absolute globalized world run by billionaires and their bought politicians are the subject of cheap shots by the liberal biased media.  A real shame, but as Brexit has shown the minds of individuals cannot be bought as easily as planned. 

 

These cheap and unrelated press statements, ending bad economic news, are becoming the new norm.  Seen it in many articles the last year especially.