BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc on Wednesday offered voluntary early retirement packages to about 2,000 production workers.
The cuts are in addition to the 22,000 layoffs the company announced last month, as it scrambles to cope with a downturn in demand for construction and mining equipment.
The 84-year old company, whose equipment is a common sight on construction projects around the world, said additional buyouts or layoffs may be necessary this year, depending on business conditions.
The packages would be offered to workers in Illinois, Colorado, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. CATERPILLAR (CAT.NY)will use a mix of workers' ages and length of service to determine who is eligible for the buyout packages.
"Our intent is to provide eligible employees the opportunity to retire early as we expect significant declines in all geographic regions," said Sid Banwart, vice president of human services at the Peoria, Illinois-based company.
Job cuts are spreading across the U.S. economy as companies scramble to reduce costs in the face of the worst economic downturn in decades. Just this week ailing Detroit automaker General Motors Corp
Caterpillar has been slashing jobs at a pace not seen since the mid-1980s, when the U.S. manufacturer was losing $1 million a day and fighting to keep its doors open.
Last month the company reported a 32 percent fall in fourth-quarter profit and warned this year's earnings could fall by more than more than half due to the worldwide recession.
(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Derek Caney, Dave Zimmerman)
