An estimated 5,000 people marched through the Belgian town of Charerloi, police said on Friday, in protest at planned job cuts by machinery maker Caterpillar.<br /><br /> Early this month, the US-based firm said as many as 2,000 positions could go at its factory in Gosselies.<br /><br /> Executives say they plan to move production shifts to other facilities worldwide.<br /><br /> The company is undergoing a cost-cutting exercise and wants to slash 10,000 jobs by the end of 2018.<br /><br /> Unions and workers organised the demonstration, but they were joined by local people who wanted to show their solidarity with those affected.<br /><br /> The protest comes just days after Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the European Commission, told MEPs that he wanted the European Union to be “more social”, reports euronews’ Efi Koutsokosta<br /><br /> That call was met with scorn from Caterpillar employees.<br /><br /> “I’d ask him to be in our shoes, even if only for one day,” said one employee. “Before he’s spent in a day in the shoes of a worker in our situation, he can’t say anything because he knows absolutely nothing.<br /><br /> “We need the bosses to have fewer benefits in Belgium,” said another. “The multinationals, we always give them more dividends, but we the rest get nothing back in return.”<br />
