Harley-Davidson cutting 1,100 jobs, consolidating plants

[PeaceNikki]

Source: The Wall Street Journal MarketWatch

By Simon Kennedy
Last update: 6:43 a.m. EST Jan. 23, 2009
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Motorcylce manufacturer Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG: 12.40, -1.16, -8.5%) said Friday that it will cut around 1,100 jobs in 2009 and 2010 as it cuts production volumes and restructures. The company said it will consolidate its two engine and transmission plants in the Milwaukee area into its facility in Menomonee Falls, Wis., discontinue its domestic transportation fleet, close its distribution facility in Franklin, Wis., and consolidate paint and frame operations at its assembly facility in York, Pa. The group said it expects to take one-time charges of $110 to $140 million and generate annual savings of $60 million to $70 million.

Read more: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/harley-davidson-cutting-1100-jobs-consolidating/story.aspx?guid={3622EAEB-D975-456E-A664-E2CDEADB8B5D}&dist=msr_1

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This is another big blow to SE Wisconsin. :(

[madrchsod]

1. who`s making enough money to afford a new harley?

there is going to be a glut of used harleys on the market this year so there is`t any demand for new ones even if someone had the money to buy new.

[Dr.Phool]

2. I tried to sell my '97 3 years ago. Never got a nibble.

Had it in the paper for 6 months, and reduced the price several times. That's when I knew the economy was headed for the crapper.

However, 2 of my neighbors bought new Hawgs a couple of months ago.

[-..__...]

12. It was probably more than just the economy.

The Harley fad peaked and declined well before that when the midlife crisis types/weekend warriors with their designer leathers, fully loaded cruisers and factory authorized beer steins either lost interest or got too old to ride anymore.

[Born Free]

28. Some models don't sell as well...

Harley has been changing pretty fast in the last couple years, it obsoletes the older models much sooner, and lowers their resale value. These days the New Harleys are 96ci with 6 speed transmissions and throttle control by wire. Baggers don't hold their resale value as well as the Softtails.

Personally I'll keep our old '90 bagger with over 107K miles on it. It does everything a good old Harley should do, it shakes,rattles,rolls and even coughs and spits some times. We did replace the engine this winter with a 113ci ,it's something I wanted to do before I die and never did it before. Now all I have to do it get it set up right :) As for gas mileage, about 40 mpg riding the old bagger 2 up all the time - we do have a little Buell Blast that gets about 60mpg, the Blast is OK for a commuter but not as much fun as the old Harley. I have no desire to get a new Harley, even though I know they are better - it's guys like me that drive Harley nuts, old farts that like old bikes.

[PeaceNikki]

15. Ya know, I just had this conversation with a co-worker.

He's a newer Harley owner.

He needed a fuel-efficient mode of transportation and a new Harley was significantly less than a hybrid, so I think they still have a market.

[xchrom]

3. recommend -- and the bleeding continues. nt

[PeaceNikki]

4. Yeah.

:(

And more blue-collar, good paying, union jobs lost in areas that have already lost so many. This represents about 12% of their workforce.

[OhioChick]

7. Sadly enough, it does.

K&R

[Azlady]

5. OMG- this is a shock to me, somehow I thought with the gas mileage

of their motorcycles would keep them going. But with the job loss in this country so high, no one can buy bikes. :-(

[ProgressiveProfessor]

9. Harleys are high buck and not all that efficient

[CRF450]

11. They get 40mpg just like most other motorcycles

[ProgressiveProfessor]

13. Sportsers maybe, not the baggers on the road

Ninjettes and other small displacement rides blow HD away in the mileage dept. HDs are not about economy

[HopeHoops]

6. My neighbor bought a scooter. They aren't the "Revenge of the Nerds" things anymore.

It actually looks more like a motorcycle than a scooter and it can keep up with the traffic well enough to get him to work and back. He drives a Saturn in bad weather, but the scooter gets way better mileage.

[dysfunctional press]

8. i saw a guy on a scooter on the eisenhower expressway outside chicago...

that's just plain NUTS.

[Serial Mom]

10. Sad thing - there is MORE of this going to happen thru out year

State budgets in trouble so it all then trickles down to school districts in dire trouble, taxpayer services cut drastically by state, county and local governments, poor suffering more...


http://www.cbpp.org/9-8-08sfp.htm
The states’ fiscal problems are continuing into the next two years. At least 39 states have looked ahead and anticipate deficits for fiscal year 2010 and beyond. These gaps total over $80 billion — 17 percent of budgets — for the 30 states that have estimated the size of these gaps and are likely to grow as gaps are re-estimated in the next few months.

For example, at least 22 states have implemented or are considering cuts that will affect low-income children’s or families’ eligibility for health insurance or reduce their access to health care services. Programs for the elderly and disabled are also being cut. At least 21 states are cutting medical, rehabilitative, home care, or other services needed by low-income people who are elderly or have disabilities, or significantly increasing the cost of these services.

At least 21 states are cutting or proposing to cut K-12 and early education; several of them are also reducing access to child care and early education, and at least 28 states have implemented or proposed cuts to public colleges and universities.


Notice how DUBYA caused the States and Schools to go bust! Yeah, he cared about 'Mericans - he NEVER really protected us - he raped us!

[tuckessee]

14. Maybe Harley owners will have to settle for mopeds.

I can just see them in leather and bandanas lined up outside the saloon pedaling furiously away on their still kickstanded yellow & white Honda Hobbits to get 'em started. :)

[Pale Blue Dot]

16. Harley’s profit skids, plans to cut 1,100 jobs

Source: MSNBC

CHICAGO - Harley-Davidson Inc said on Friday that it will cut nearly 12 percent of its workforce and close several plants as the global pullback in consumer spending crushed its earnings even worse than Wall Street had expected.

The quarterly results, which were also pulled down by a big loss at the motorcycle maker’s in-house finance unit, sent Harley’s already battered shares sharply lower.

Manufacturers of discretionary items like motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles have been especially hard hit by the confluence of economic problems.

The contraction in U.S. house prices, the Wall Street meltdown, loss of consumer confidence have relegated the industry’s pricey products to the bottom of most households’ to-buy lists.

The breakdown in the credit markets and surge in unemployment have only added to the industry’s problems.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28812875/

[DS1]

17. Looks like the yuppie weekend warrior market dried up

Wild Hogs indeed.

[lonestarnot]

18. The thunderbolts or whateva...

:puke:

[Psephos]

30. you obviously aren't knowledgeable about Harley demographics n/t

[Ron Green]

19. "...discretionary items like motorcycles...."

That's certainly the case with Harleys. Expensive, loud, showy, unreliable, wasteful of fuel. There ARE motorized cycles, though, that wouldn't be considered "discretionary" in a modern transportation mix.

[tridim]

20. My motorcycle is 100% utilitarian and it gets about 75mpg.

Do I NEED it? Probably not, but it sure feels good more than doubling my gas mileage driving to work every day.

It's a 250cc Kawasaki dual sport bike, aka a real SUV. :)

[Ron Green]

21. ...and you don't have to wear a Midlife Crisis costume to ride it!

:P

[w8liftinglady]

27. lol...you described my ex-boyfriend

Harley Sportster,leathers,jacket,boots..the whole 9 yards.

[CRF450]

29. I can convert my 450 to a dual sport

Well, I'd rather keep it offroad rather than deal with the greater dangers of traffic.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=163446538

[Xithras]

24. Yep, Harley made the same mistake that the big 3 did.

They failed to diversify their offerings to accommodate a wider customer base. They build a niche product, and now are in trouble since that niche vanished.

[tridim]

25. Plus they're overpriced by at least 200%.

[Historic NY]

22. no money for toys & no credit even if you want one.

[LiberalFighter]

23. There needs to be an even balance. Because they are all part of the economy.

[Enthusiast]

26. They shouldn't have bought MV Agusta

They should have designed their own sport bike. Much of the younger market isn't interested in cruiser type motorcycles. Selling MV Agustas will do nothing for the blue collar American worker. And Buell sport bikes are simply too small and uncomfortable for regular sized Americans. While I like the Buell Ulysess it is stuck with an antique undersquare air cooled engine with a very loud cooling fan. And the market for regular HDs is seriously flooded.