The equipment giant said the employees would be out of work indefinitely due to significant decreases in production volumes in recent months.“This is primarily related to a decrease in orders for on-highway truck engines made in Mossville, lower demand for engines used in Caterpillar machines and decreased demand for commercial engine applications,” the manufacturer said in a statement.”These decisions are never easy, and we understand these lay offs will create challenges for many of our employees and their families,” said Gary Stroup, Caterpillar’s vice president with responsibility for Large Power Systems Division.Employees impacted by this decision were notified on Thursday by Caterpillar and were told the lay offs would begin on February 23, 2009.
