Harley-Davidson increases number of production layoffs
Harley-Davidson officials said it is increasing the number of production employee layoffs for this year and 2010 in wake of further refinements to its manufacturing process.
Harley will eliminate an additional 300-400 production positions over the next two years, the company stated in its first-quarter conference call. Harley already had announced the elimination of 800 hourly production jobs earlier this year.
These layoffs come as a result of the company reducing its yearly build by 10 percent-13 percent for 2009 as compared to the previous year.
The company said it expects to save $70 million-$80 million over the next two years due to the restructuring of its employee base.