Caterpillar to make more wheel loaders and no more backhoe loaders at Clayton plant

As part of a larger corporate restructuring, Caterpillar plans to stop manufacturing backhoe loaders at its Clayton plant and increase the amount of wheel loader production done at the facility
over the next year.

Jim Dugan, a spokesman for Caterpillar's Illinois headquarters, said the backhoe production is moving to a plant in the United Kingdom. In turn, some of the wheel loader production now made in the same U.K. plant will move to Clayton.

"In the end, Clayton will become what we call a focus facility
and they will be focused on producing that one product," Dugan said.
"It's part of an overall effort to improve the competitiveness and the
profitability of the division."

Caterpillar officials held meetings with the company's 1,800 employees in Clayton, Cary and Sanford in August to discuss the restructuring plan. At the time, Dugan said the restructuring would likely involve additional job cuts during the next six months to a year.

Dugan said the company does not yet know how the movement of production between Clayton and the U.K. will impact overall staffing levels at the Clayton plant.

He said he did not know how many employees are involved in backhoe production at the Clayton facility. Dugan said staffing levels will also be affected by the economy, and whether demand for the company's earth-moving equipment picks up next year.

"If the economy picks up, job demand tends to follow that," he said.