Caterpillar `Bites the Bullet' as Oil Rout Compounds Mining Pain
- Cost cutting will drive up to 10,000 job losses through 2018
- Shares tumble as CEO flags challenges in energy and mining
Caterpillar Cutting 10,000 Jobs, Sales Forecast
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The last time Caterpillar Inc. cut thousands of jobs, a mining slowdown was to blame. Now the main culprit is oil, as slumping prices batter drillers.
On Thursday, the world’s most valuable machinery producer announced a plan to cut as many as 10,000 jobs, or 9 percent of its workforce, through 2018 as the effects of crude’s collapse ripple through the industry. The measures -- including the second reduction in sales guidance in two months -- represent the biggest round of cuts since 2013, when the company reduced its headcount by 13,000 as sales to metal producers declined along with prices.