Layoffs announced at Caterpillar Work Tools in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Caterpillar Work Tools announced it will lay off 63 people and closing its facility in Jacksonville.

It's part of a global effort for the company to cut costs and consolidate because of a downturn in the mining industry.

Caterpillar Work Tools Inc., located off Highway Avenue on the Westside, makes buckets and other attachments for Caterpillar’s heavy machines.

Caterpillar said it's closing the facility due to global restructuring. In addition to the Jacksonville facility, four other Caterpillar facilitates will be closed across the country, affecting 820 workers nationwide.

The 63 positions will be eliminated between late August and the end of November.

The announcement was reported on June 28, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

Caterpillar Work Tools is a subsidiary of Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar, which acquired the Jacksonville Westside facility in 1990. Since September 2015, Caterpillar has eliminated 5,300 positions worldwide due to low demand for mining products.

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Cox Media Group