We report this week on the storm brewing in Belgium over Caterpillar's decision to close its plant in Gosselies.
The closure means the loss of 2,200 direct jobs and up to 6,000 jobs at suppliers, causing a political backlash in the region.
Of course, job losses are always unfortunate, but in a global economy, companies have to remain competitive to survive - and clearly, many more jobs are closely linked to Caterpillar's long-term viability.
One can only hope that the company shows its corporate social responsibility in its handling of the redundancies, as so many manufacturers in the materials handling sector have done in recent years.
And our best wishes go out to all those who will be affected by the closure.