Dive Brief:
- Caterpillar Inc., a construction and mining equipment manufacturing giant, announced Friday afternoon plans to move two lines—producing gear and engine oil pumps and valves—from its current location of Joliet, IL, to Monterrey, Mexico.
- As a result of the relocation, 230 jobs will be lost at the Juliet plant. Caterpillar said the other production lines, for truck struts and hoist cylinders, will remain in Illinois.
- The move will begin at the end of 2016 and be completed in mid-2018, the company said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
Caterpillar cited cost concerns as the reason for the move. The Joliet factory has experienced a series of cuts over the past few decades—770 workers are currently employed there, compared with 7,000 in the late 1970s.
The company gave the union representing the laid-off workers a 60-day notice after it first announced the possibility of a relocation in January.
Illinois State Rep. Larry Walsh Jr. told the Joliet's Herald News that he found the announcement disappointing. "This company has been a mainstay in Joliet… At one time, it was the largest employer in the county. To kind of just turn their backs on it all for profit… It upsets me," he said.
