Caterpillar cuts foundry jobs, May idle plant

A union official says Caterpillar will lay off 75 employees at a central IL foundry & may close it for 2 months in 09 if demand for its engines doesn't improve. Rick Doty is president of UAW Local. He says 75 workers at the foundry in Mapleton will be laid off Monday. The town is south of Peoria, where Caterpillar is based. He says it also has tentative plans to close the foundry & idle its 525 remaining workers in Nov. & Dec. Caterpillar spoke with employees about job reductions, but didn't discuss specifics. Caterpillar's laid off over 30,000 workers worldwide in the current recession.