PITTSBURGH — Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. announced 2,110 new job cuts today as it scales back production amid a world economic slowdown.

The world's largest maker of mining and construction machinery said the layoffs at three Illinois plants — in Aurora, Decatur and East Peoria — and other cost-cutting measures were needed to maintain competitiveness. Like other big manufacturers, Caterpillar has seen key markets undercut by weaker sales of large equipment as companies reduce spending.

The layoffs added to 20,000 job cuts announced earlier this week. On Monday, the Peoria, Ill., company reported a 32 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit as slumping commodity prices, tight credit markets and a decline in construction hurt orders for its backhoes, tractors and other machines.

Caterpillar, with about 113,000 employees worldwide, has expanded dramatically in recent years, helped by surging demand from infrastructure projects in developing countries. At the end of 2008, the company employed 11,500 more people than it did a year earlier.