Aug. 22--Oshkosh Corp. said Thursday it is cutting its global work force by 10%, just two weeks after slowing construction activity caused the heavy equipment maker to reduce its earnings forecast.

The company is making the reduction through layoffs, retirements and not filling open positions, according to a statement.

The company statement didn't say how many employees Oshkosh has worldwide. The company's latest annual report, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said Oshkosh had 14,200 employees as of Sept. 30, 2007. That would translate to a work-force reduction of 1,420 positions.

The statement didn't elaborate on whether any cuts would occur in Wisconsin, or provide information on how many employees Oshkosh has in the state. The company has not filed any layoff notices with the state Department of Workforce Development, said agency official Jerry Smith.

The company has 2,700 employees in Oshkosh, where it is based, according to the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce. It has 1,500 employees at its Pierce Manufacturing operation in Appleton, according to the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce. The company also has 250 union employees in Kewaunee, according to its annual report.

The operations in Oshkosh, which include about 1,875 production employees, are part of the company's defense segment, which posted a 30.1% sales increase during the third quarter. Perry Graves, president of United Auto Workers Local 578, which represents the production workers in Oshkosh, said none of Local 578's members would be affected by the reduction.

The Appleton operations are part of the company's fire and emergency segment, which posted a 3.1% sales decline during the third quarter.

The work-force reductions are targeted, the company said, indicating that weaker segments will bear the brunt.

The company's commercial equipment division had a 7.3% quarterly sales decline. Its access equipment sales increased 5.3%, but the company's reduced earnings forecast includes lower expectations for that segment during the fourth quarter.

"To meet current economic and market-place challenges, Oshkosh Corp. is implementing global corporate-wide organizational changes that will reduce costs, rebalance inventories, and position the company to respond to the slowdown in residential and commercial construction," the statement said.

"The company faces strong economic headwinds fueled by the construction slowdown; credit crisis and dramatic spikes in supply costs in many areas including steel and petroleum-based products," the statement said.

Oshkosh on Aug. 1 reported a third quarter loss of $84.3 million, or $1.14 per share. The company cited weakness in key U.S. markets, and an impairment charge for a European division. Without the impairment charges, Oshkosh would have earned $1.19 per share. Analysts, who usually exclude charges from their calculations, had forecast earnings of $1.05 per share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.

The company also said it would post fourth-quarter earnings of 50 cents to 65 cents a share. Analysts were expecting 93 cents.

The slowing economy has hurt demand for concrete mixers, commercial trucks and access equipment. But the company's military trucks sales remain strong, fueled by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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