Cummins Inc. last week announced that it will reduce its permanent professional workforce worldwide by at least 800 employees by the end of February and freeze salaries for the year.
As part of the latest reductions, the company will offer a second voluntary retirement package to certain active professional employees in the United States. The remainder of the reductions will result from involuntary terminations from Cummins’ operations around the world.
The company also will reduce the salaries of its officers by 10 percent for 2009. In addition, Cummins will continue to monitor production volumes at individual manufacturing plants and take whatever actions are necessary as dictated by customer demand for its products.
This is Cummins’ second round of reductions in response to the worsening global economic crisis and its impact on the company’s markets and sales. In addition to job reductions, Cummins aggressively cut costs, reduced spending in all areas and initiated temporary plant shutdowns, shortened work weeks and extended traditional holiday closing periods during the fourth quarter of 2008.
Combined with its previous actions taken in December, the company will have reduced its professional workforce by more than 1,400 people or 10 percent. In addition, Cummins will have reduced its hourly workforce by more than 600 and cut approximately 2,500 contingent workers.
“It is unfortunate that after five straight years of record performance and greatly improved business fundamentals we are being forced to take these difficult actions,” said Tim Solso, Cummins chairman and CEO. “While these steps are very painful, they are necessary to keep Cummins competitive through this global recession so we can emerge a stronger company when the economy and our markets recover.
“It is our expectation that these workforce reductions will align our cost structure with our projected business levels, and allow us to meet customer requirements and preserve our ability to invest for the future.”
Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Ind., Cummins serves customers in approximately 190 countries and territories through a network of more than 500 company-owned and independent distributor locations and approximately 5,200 dealer locations. Cummins reported net income of $739 million on sales of $13.1 billion in 2007.
