Caterpillar Inc. said today it will cut nearly 20,000 positions, The Home Depot Inc. announced 7,000 jobs will be slashed, Sprint Nextel Corp. plans to lay off 8,000 of its workers, ING Groep NV will cut 7,000 jobs, and Deere & Co. said it will lay off 700 employees.

Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar said it will fire approximately 17,000 workers and buy out an additional 2,500, Reuters reported. The layoffs are in response to the company’s quarterly earnings, which decreased more than 32 percent from a year earlier. The company also warned that profits in 2009 would be under severe pressure in what is predicted to be the weakest year for business since the end of World War II.

“These are very uncertain times, and it’s imperative that we focus on dramatically reducing production schedules and costs in light of poor economic conditions throughout the world,” Caterpillar CEO Jim Owens said in a statement. “While it’s painful for our employees and suppliers, it’s absolutely necessary given economic circumstances.”

Nearly 200 Deere workers in Davenport will lose their jobs or be temporarily reassigned to a new position as part of a larger company restructuring, the Associated Press reported. Today, Deere announced that it will lay off almost 700 workers – 502 from a factory in Horizontina, Brazil, and 190 from its plant in Davenport – effective Feb. 16. Employees were told about the layoffs last week.

Along with its 7,000-employee layoff, The Home Dept today said it will freeze officer salaries and close its Expo Design Centers as part of its restructuring plan, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported. The Atlanta-based company cut 500 jobs, or 10 percent of its work force, in January 2008 and closed 15 stores in May 2008, eliminating 1,300 jobs.

“Home Depot’s news really reflects what is going on at corporations,” said Bill Schultz, chief investment officer with McQueen, Ball & Associates Inc. in Pennsylvania. “Companies have to cut expenses and focus on where they think consumer spending is going to be.”

Sprint said that it hopes to cut annual costs by about $1.2 billion after it slashes 8,000 jobs, or 14.3 percent of its work force, by March 31, the Kansas City Business Journal reported. The company also announced plans to suspend its 401(k) match for 2009, extend its suspension of annual salary increases and suspend its tuition reimbursement program.

ING said it would cut 7,000 jobs this year and announced that its CEO would step down. Also, Starbucks Corp. is expected to cut as many as 1,000 employees, including corporate employees, district managers and field employees, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal.