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BRP Plans Workforce Reduction, Factory Sale

Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP) plans to sell two components plants and cut 800 jobs, of which 600 are in Canada, 100 in the United States and another 100 outside of North America.
BRP officials, in a prepared statement released this week, said the company’s outboard motor components plants in Delavan, Wisc. and Spruce Pine, N.C. are for sale, and that it seeks a buyer willing to form a supplier relationship and keep the plants operational.
BRP leaders say the decision is necessitated by the rise of the Canadian dollar compared to the U.S. dollar, and the continuous increase of commodity prices.
“The goal is to concentrate our activities on our core competencies, which are design and engineering, final assembly and the relationship with the market,” said Jose Boisjoli, BRP’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Considering the external pressures, especially with a Canadian dollar becoming increasingly stronger, we needed to take measures accordingly.”
Of the employee cuts in Canada, BRP said 200 will be offered pre-retirement packages, 200 will be laid off with a possibility of recall, and 200 more will be laid off permanently. The company said nothing about employee cuts in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Valcourt and Sturtevant will remain the company’s two main manufacturing sites in North America. BRP’s other manufacturing sites are in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico; Rovaniemi, Finland; Gunskirchen, Austria; and Dong Guan, China.

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