A national casual clothing chain has pulled Caterpillar boots from its London, Ont., stores after the heavy-equipment giant shut down a local locomotive plant.

Mark's Work Wearhouse says it is showing support for hundreds of workers who lost their jobs at the Electro-Motive.

The retailer announced the move on its Facebook page Saturday, a day after U.S-based Caterpillar revealed its plans to close the plant following a labour dispute.

The company had asked its 450 employees to take a 50 per cent pay cut to help keep Electro-Motive going.

The CAW union members rejected the proposal, prompting the company to lock them out Jan. 1.

Caterpillar subsidiary Progress Rail Services said the cost structure at the London plant was unsustainable, even though Caterpillar last week reported a 58 per cent increase in its quarterly earnings with a record profit of nearly $5 billion.