Caterpillar sheds 5,000 workers in three months

As its slumping customers put off equipment purchases, Caterpillar is following through on the big-time cost-cutting the company announced last fall.

Between late September and Jan. 1, the manufacturer of mining trucks, construction equipment and other machines cut its global workforce by 5,000 jobs. Most were salaried positions.

In Illinois, where the company's headquarters are located, Caterpillar cut some 2,300 jobs, split between layoffs and voluntary retirements.

Read more from Crain's Chicago Business.