More salaried and management Caterpillar employees were walked off the job in East Peoria and Aurora Thursday.
The company says the layoffs are part of the ongoing restructuring, though Caterpillar is not saying exactly how many people were let go. The job cuts were not enough to stimulate the notification requirements of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
Multiple sources estimate 20 to 30 people were let-go in East Peoria’s Building SS including Techs, Engineers, and the plant manager. That facility makes the D9 and D11 large track-type tractors.
Hourly plant workers are also experiencing demand-based shift reductions. One of those reportedly includes the three shifts in the tool room in building HH, all moving to first-shift starting Monday along with six-week rolling layoffs. Hourly sources says the manager and supervisors on the third shift in Building LL have been let go and that shift is also moving to first shift.
Floor workers have also reportedly been told they'll be building one-and-half tractors per day. By comparison, factory sources say they were building 35 a day at peak production six years ago. Some are expressing concern that level of production is not sustainable.