No Joy In Milwaukee, More Mining Jobs Lost

In the face of a continuing slump in global mining activity, Joy Global Inc. said it will shut down its heavy welding and fabrication operations at its Milwaukee, Wis., headquarters, resulting in the loss of about 130 jobs.

Most of the employees affected by the shutdown have already been laid off, the company said. The heavy fabrication and welding activities will be covered by other Joy Global manufacturing and service facilities and alliance partners, the company said.

“The company will continue to keep all employees informed throughout the process and is offering severance packages or bargained benefits as applicable,” the company said. “The rest of the company’s Milwaukee-area operations are not affected by this notice, as the company maintains a workforce at several area locations — its surface mining headquarters, its corporate headquarters and its Milwaukee distribution center.”

The news comes after the company reported that total bookings for the first quarter fell 21% from the previous year. Orders for underground mining machinery decreased 31% versus the first quarter of 2015, while surface mining orders fell 8%.

It also comes shortly after Caterpillar, which had made Milwaukee its Global Mining headquarters following its acquisition of Bucyrus International in 2010, was moving engineering and technology jobs from the Milwaukee area to Tucson, Ariz.