Caterpillar (CAT) is the global leader in construction equipment manufacturing. Back in July I wrote that now is the best time to buy Caterpillar since the Great Recession.

But, things have changed since then. Caterpillar issued a troubling announcement yesterday…

The company plans to permanently reduce its workforce by between 4,000 and 10,000 workers between now and the end of 2016.

To put this into perspective, Caterpillar currently has around 114,000 employees. The company is eliminating 4% to 9% of its workforce over the course of about a year.

Healthy companies typically do not slash their work force. The truth is,Caterpillar has fallen on hard times.

The company’s stock price has declined over 11% in the last week alone.

Is Caterpillar squashed, or is now the perfect time to buy into this industry leading business?

Impatient readers can skip to the conclusion of this article.

For those who want to learn more about Caterpillar, its recent struggles, growth prospects, and dividend analysis, continue reading.

Company Overview

The company sells its equipment through a network of Caterpillar dealers.

The company operates in 4 primary divisions:

Note: All sales percentages are from the company’s 2nd quarter of 2015 results.

The Financial products segment provides financing services to Caterpillar’s customers and dealers.

The ‘all other segments’ division is a catch-all that includes several of Caterpillar’s smaller operations, that includes the following:

The resource industry division primarily serves the mining and quarrying industries. The construction division serves the infrastructure and building construction industries. The energy & transportation division serves the power generation, industrial, oil & gas, and transportation industries.