Caterpillar to close Belgium plant, to lay off 2000

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), the world’s No.1 heavy machinery maker, reveal Friday that it may planning to close its plant in Gosselies, Belgium, leaving more than 2,000 people out of work, as part of a streamlining and cost-savings plan announced last year.

The news triggered immediate reactions, with a group of about 60 employees seizing bulldozers and attempting to block the entrance to the plant, Belgium’s state broadcaster — RTBF — reported.

It also comes at a time of political instability in the country, where Prime Minister Charles Michel is facing accusations from opposition parties of failing to do enough to support jobs.

“The closure of Caterpillar is an absolute catastrophe,” said Elio Di Rupo, president of Belgium’s opposition Socialist Party and the country Prime Ministers between 2011 and 2014, the WSJ reported.

The politician noted the Gosselies plant received plenty of support from the government in recent years, adding that those workers ad made sacrifices to keep the site going.

The Peoria, Illinois-based company, which currently manufactures construction equipment at the Belgium plant, said it may shift the production to its facility at Grenoble, France and other locations outside of Europe.

CAT’s performance is often seen as a gauge of the health of the global economy, as its machines are huge, expensive, and used in different kinds of projects to which companies and governments are only likely to commit if they're confident in the economic outlook and their financial standing.

More to come…

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