Caterpillar Considering Shutting Down Gosselies, Belgium, Construction Equipment Plant
Caterpillar said it is contemplating moving production away from its plant in Gosselies, Belgium, in favor of other facilities. The plant primarily makes construction equipment. The announcement begins an information and consultation process, which could lead to the closure of the facilities and a collective layoff of employees.
Caterpillar made the announcement as part of its global restructuring and cost savings plan announced in September 2015. The company is considering moving the production to its manufacturing facility in Grenoble, France, and other manufacturing plants outside of Europe.
Caterpillar is also considering allocating component production to extrenal supplier and consolidating support functions to other sites. If that occurs, Caterpillar would lay off about 2,000 employees from the Gosselies site.
“We have to contemplate actions to reduce manufacturing capacity and take operating costs out of our business to align with lower demand,” said Tom Pellette, group president with responsibility for construction industries. “Should the intention be confirmed, we will support the local leadership in order to mitigate the impact on our employees, their families and the communities where we’re located."
During the upcoming information and consultation process, Caterpillar said it is committed to complying with applicable laws and to engage in a constructive dialog with employee representatives in order to minimize the social impact.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.