Nearly 300 workers laid off from BRP’s revamped Sea-Doo Switch facility due to ‘soft demand’

According to BizTimes.com, the layoffs took place in two rounds, with the first one taking place in March and affecting 150 workers. The second round of cuts happened on May 23, giving notice to 148 workers.

BRP reported a 48.5% decrease in net income in the last fiscal year. Softened demand and a mild winter have had a knock-on effect on sales.

Both marine and snowmobile sales saw revenue drops in Q4-FY24. Seasonal products, which includes snowmobiles, decreased 27.8% YoY. BRP said the decrease was attributable to “unfavorable winter conditions.” Given its focus on managing network inventory levels, the company said it expects Q1 Fiscal 2025 EBITDA to be down approximately 35% versus the last fiscal year period.

BizTimes notes the layoffs included new and low-hour employees.

“Our fourth quarter results ended within our guidance despite unfavorable winter conditions affecting our snow-related business,” José Boisjoli, president and chief executive officer of BRP Inc., told BizTimes.

In October 2022, BRP Inc. announced plans to invest $14 million to expand its manufacturing facility in Sturtevant, which had 720 employees at the time. The expansion was to support the production and distribution of the Sea-Doo Switch, which the company began producing in January 2022. The expansion included improvements to the existing facility and the development of a 30-acre off-site shipping yard to store finished products before distribution.