Caterpillar Inc. announces layoffs at plant in South Texas

Most of the Caterpillar workers laid off were supplemental employees hired on a short-term basis, with the possible opportunity to be hired full-time, according to social media posts.

Caterpillar’s facility in Victoria employs around 600 people. The company manufactures large hydraulic excavators at the plant. The employees laid off served as support for Caterpillar’s manufacturing operations, according to Miller.

Caterpillar recently announced its third-quarter financial results, badly missing most analysts’ forecasts, according to Zacks. Caterpillar’s revenue and sales declined about 6% during the third-quarter.

The heavy machinery manufacturer earned $2.66 per share in the third quarter, compared to  analyst estimates of $2.88 per share. Revenue came in at $12.76 billion, while Wall Street expected revenue of $13.57 billion.

The Deerfield, Illinois-based company said it now expects fourth-quarter demand to be flat, down by a $900 million reduction in inventories. 

“Our volumes declined as dealers reduced their inventories, and end-user demand, while positive, was lower than our expectations,” Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby said during an earnings call on October 23. 

Caterpillar’s largest decline was in Asia, where sales in China fell nearly 30%, compared to the same period last year.

Caterpillar also recently announced it was outsourcing jobs at its Peoria, Illinois facility to a company in Dublin, Ireland. The positions were in its finance and accounting departments, according to WMBD-TV.