Caterpillar to close Owatonna plant - KXLT - Fox 47 Rochester MN News, Weather and Sports

OWATONNA, Minn. (FOX 47) -- Owatonna will lose 100 jobs when Caterpillar Inc. closes its plant by March 1.

Caterpillar Inc. notified employees Thursday it is closing the plant and consolidating operations within its forestry business.

Caterpillar is offering employees at the plant a severance package and will work with agencies to help workers find new jobs.

"We value our employees' contributions, and these actions are not a reflection of them, but rather the result of a need to make our business more efficient and competitive," said John Carpenter, president of Caterpillar's Forest Products Division. "We understand these decisions will be difficult for the lives of many of our workers and their families, and we genuinely regret that."

Some engineering work will remain in the Owatonna area. Forest products made in Owatonna will transition to other Caterpillar Forest Products plants in Prentice, Wis., and LaGrange, Ga.