Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) announced today that it has offered a voluntary
retirement package to hourly employees in southern Indiana who meet
certain eligibility criteria.
Approximately 700 employees are eligible for the program and the Company
will accept up to 350 voluntary retirement applications. All hourly
workers in southern Indiana with 30 years of service, or who are at
least 55 years old with a minimum of 10 years of service are eligible to
apply for the program.
Eligible employees have until 5 p.m. Feb. 13 to accept the offer. It is
expected that most of the employees who receive the retirement package
will leave the Company by March 1.
“The demand for our engines and related products continues to fall, and
despite the significant steps already taken to align our costs with that
demand, permanent job reductions have become necessary,’” said Jim
Kelly, President – Engine Business. “This action is the next step in our
“rings of defense” approach to reducing costs.”
In addition to today’s announcement, Cummins has announced job
reductions affecting more than 1,400 salaried workers and approximately
1,000 hourly workers worldwide since the beginning of the fourth quarter
2008. The Company also has aggressively moved to cut costs in a number
of other ways, including:
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Cutting 2,500 contract and temporary workers
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Halting hiring, except in rare cases
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Freezing salaries for professional employees
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Reducing officers’ salaries by 10 percent for 2009
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Shortening work weeks at a number of manufacturing facilities
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Closing manufacturing and distributor facilities
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Significantly cutting discretionary spending
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Significantly reducing capital spending in the fourth quarter 2008 and
in 2009
Cummins currently employs approximately 2,800 hourly workers in southern
Indiana and about 6,200 people total in Indiana. The Company reduced its
professional workforce in Indiana by approximately 200 people in
December through a combination of retirements and involuntary job cuts,
and announced a second round of professional job reductions on Jan. 13,
which will result in additional job losses in the state.
About Cummins
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, Indiana, (USA) 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 $13.05 billion in 2007. Press
releases can be found on the Web at www.cummins.com.
Forward-looking disclosure statement
Information provided in this release that is not purely historical are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the
company’s expectations, hopes, beliefs and intentions on strategies
regarding the future. It is important to note that the company’s actual
future results could differ materially from those projected in such
forward-looking statements because of a number of factors, including,
but not limited to, general economic, business and financing conditions,
labor relations, governmental action, competitor pricing activity,
expense volatility and other risks detailed from time to time in Cummins
Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Cummins Inc.
Mark Land – Director of Public Relations
317-610-2456;
317-903-6999 (cell)
mark.d.land@cummins.com