Local: Cat continues to gut workforce, but willing to spend millions supporting booddoggle
From Merle Widmer:
Caterpillar cuts 117 more white collar jobs; last day, this Friday. All the while, Cat officials say the non-income producing millions they would spend on the riverfront have nothing to do with firings, layoffs, and local PRODUCTIVE spending. Then have empathy for all of their local suppliers who produce a product. Those businesses have been severely affected. How must some of them feel about Cat having money to donate $55 million to a project in so must demand that the promoters are spending $640,000.00 to try to sell it to the voter?
Meanwhile local candidates continue to tell us that we ought to vote to double the Peoria County government’s sales tax rate, bdecause it will strengthen Caterpillar’s ties to the Peoria area. It’s code for pay more taxes or Caterpillar might leave people. Sorry folks, that ISN’T going to happen.
March 12th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
For those laid off IT people with real skillz:
Blizzard Entertainment is hiring… was splashed all over the World of Warcraft front page.
March 16th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
It could be worse. CAT could choose to be like many corporations and lay off and give nothing back to the community. For fun, compare the philanthropic efforts of CAT to State Farm. For example, Tremont could not have rebuilt the town swimming pool without a generous donation from CAT. State Farm does not give anyone in the Bloomington/Normal area a penny. This is why Bloomington/Normal area remains loaded with mostly crappy chain restaurants and sleazy college bars. The Peoria area, although still run-down and dirty in most places, at least has some corporate sponsorship for recreational and cultural activities.