Mercury Marine makes 1,700 temporary layoffs, reduces production
One of Mercury Marine’s Fond du Lac properties. (Photo courtesy of Royalbroil/WikimediaCommons)
Around 1,700 workers will be impacted by temporary layoffs at Mercury Marine’s Fond du Lac headquarters, in the US state of Wisconsin, as the company continues to be impacted by declining sales.
The news comes just a month after the boat engine manufacturer announced nearly 300 permanent layoffs in June and July, citing the “softening of consumer demand”.
Staff at Fond du Lac spoke last month of anxiety and confusion over the news, with many concerned over long-time job security. At the time, the company confirmed the layoffs would be accompanied by “adjustments to overall operations.”
Parent company Brunswick recently announced its net sales in the quarter of 2024 were down 22 per cent versus the first quarter of 2023. The industry is witnessing an ongoing cooling period following the Covid-related boom in boating.
Mercury has confirmed it will shut down manufacturing for roughly six weeks between now and the end of the year, approximately one week at a time. “This will impact around 1,700 hourly employees,” Mercury Marine spokesperson Shelly Kuhn tells Wisconsin’s WPR network via email. “This is taking place as a result of continued high interest rates and near-term reductions in boat production by Mercury’s boat builder partners.”
WLUK-TV reports that hourly workers at the Fond du Lac plant are expected to have two-week “short-term layoffs” each month from July through October. The outlet reports that some workers will be given work during these periods while others can file for unemployment.
“These are not permanent layoffs, but days we are not manufacturing, which means the impacted employees are not working those days,” Lee Gordon, vice president of corporate communications, told the station. “It does impact the majority of our hourly population in Fond du Lac.”
The company’s operations in Fond du Lac include manufacturing facilities and corporate offices, and it currently has around 3,000 employees.
MIN has approached Mercury for a comment.
As of Tuesday morning (23 July 2024) neither Mercury Marine nor parent company Brunswick had filed a layoff notice with the state Department of Workforce Development for temporary layoffs or the layoffs announced in June.
