Brunswick closes plant in Pipestone and three others
(AP) - Beleaguered boatmaker Brunswick Corp. said it will cut 1,400 more jobs as the company shuts four plants and furloughs workers at three more - the latest round of layoffs as boat sales slump to near-record levels.
The closed plants include one in Pipestone, Minn.
The announcement, which sent the manufacturer's stock to an 18-year low - came four months after the suburban Chicago company said it would eliminate 1,000 jobs because of the falling demand for recreational boats amid a poor economic environment.
Counting Thursday's announcement - prompted by worsening financial conditions, including rising oil prices and frozen credit markets - the company has slashed more than one-third of its marine work force since the beginning of the year.
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"These actions impact not only thousands of people in our company but their families as well, and those are painful and life-changing for many," said Brunswick Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dustan E. McCoy. "Our actions around reducing costs position us to be profitable in a smaller marine market, and to prosper when the economy and the marine markets improve."
In July and August, industrywide sales of fiberglass boats fell 40 percent while sales of aluminum boats dropped 21 percent, the company said, adding that September declines were likely to be worse.
Besides the Pipestone plant, Brunswick plans to permanently close plants in Roseburg, Ore., and Arlington, Wash., while monthballing another facility in Navassa, N.C.
The closures - the latest in a series since 2006 - will be completed by the first quarter of 2009. When the cuts are complete, the company will have closed more than 40 percent of the boat plants it operated in 2006.
Meanwhile, employees at three other facilities near Knoxville, Tenn. will be furloughed beginning Oct. 27 through the end of the year.
Officials said the series of cuts will save $300 million by the end of 2009, and may prevent the company from making a profit this year.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)