Mercury... (In The News)

[Gerritt]

Posted April 2, 2008

 

 

Mercury cuts 50 salaried positions

 

By Brett Rowland

for The Northwestern

 

Mercury Marine laid off 50 salaried employees Wednesday as the boating industry continues to founder.

 

That’s about a 3 percent reduction in the company’s local work force, said Mercury spokesperson Steve Fleming.

 

“These are difficult decisions, but necessary decisions,” said Dennis Rooney, vice president of human resources at Mercury.

 

Rooney said the cuts were made in response to sinking demand for boats and engines. The job cuts are permanent and came from a wide range of positions, including office workers, managers and directors, he said.

 

Mercury officials have said from the beginning of the year that 2008 would be a tough year for the company and the industry. More jobs could be cut if the economy continues to slump.

 

“Now, as always, Mercury Marine constantly monitors the state of the marine industry and the demand for product, and reacts accordingly,” Fleming said in an interview Wednesday. “Therefore, additional reductions in work force are a possibility should the market continue to weaken or if we see a more effective way to address market opportunities. Staffing adjustments are a reality for all businesses, and Mercury is no exception.”

 

The cuts did not affect Mercury’s 1,600-member union, the organization’s president Mark Zillges said. Union members have suspended contract negotiations with Mercury Marine and plan to meet April 12 to vote on strike authorization, a precursor to a walkout. The union’s three-year contract is set to expire June 21.

 

A number of employees also volunteered to retire early, and other vacant positions will not be filled. The majority of the cuts came from Fond du Lac, but workers in Florida and Oklahoma also lost jobs, Fleming said.

 

Fleming said “generous” severance pay would be given to employees who lost jobs. Rooney said other assistance, including a program that helps workers find other jobs, would be available.

 

Fleming also dumped more cold water on rumors of more drastic cutbacks.

 

“There are no plans to sell, shut down or move Mercury Marine,” he said.

 

The last time Mercury laid off salaried employees was in 2006.

 

There are other signs that the tide is running the wrong way for Mercury Marine’s parent company, Brunswick.

 

Brunswick announced plans last week to shut down production of Baja boats in Bucyrus, Ohio, by the end of May. Some 285 people will lose jobs when the plant closes, according to the company’s Web site. The shutdown came in advance of plans to sell the Baja to Fountain Powerboat Industries, Inc., of Washington, N.C.

 

Brunswick’s boat sales fell about 10 percent last year, according to a company press release.

 

Other Brunswick mandates have hit closer to home. The company decided not to replace Mercury Marine President Pat Mackey, who retired in February. And more recently, the Mercury jet and hangar at the Fond du Lac County Airport were put up for sale. Fleming said the decision was made after Brunswick evaluated its aircraft fleet and determined the “jet was not longer a cost-effective method of transportation.”

 

Worldwide, Mercury employs about 7,000 people.

 

Breyy Rowland writes for the Fond du Lac Reporter

[lunkerbasshunter]

well this kind of thing sucks but its not just the marine industry its the whole us economy. housing starts down big time, manufacturering down unemployement rate up.

 

lets hope it doesnt trickle up to canada like they are expecting

 

Cheers!

[OhioFisherman]

Sad news, I posted one like last month about Winnebago having problems. Recreational and tourism industries will probably all take a hard hit for a while. Job and economic news here just continues to show weakness. Like 3 smaller airlines shut down in the last month or so, ATA, Aloha, Skybus.

 

Almost 250,000 jobs lost since the beginning of the year, trickle down economics, when the biggest market slows down it affects the world? Construction and manufacturing sectors continue to slide down hill.

 

Trailer sales place down the road from me, I don`t see people looking.

[2 tone z71]

interesting read Gerritt thanks for posting,as I do all kinds of Motorsports both riding/sales/repairs in my spare time its a sad fact indeed ,now for my 8-5 paying job im also nervous being a carpenter as many of our bigger jobs are from US clients buying up lots and building or hugh renos,some of the local contractors are already seeing jobs getting put on hold due to the markets and economy,ahhh time will tell

[Mike the Pike]

Too bad the 90 ponies and under are made in China.

 

Wonder if the price of gas is contributing to the decline.

 

Man it sucks to see North American workers lose their jobs to China

 

No lay offs in China EH

[LundGuy]

Damn and here I just bought two new Yamaha motors, guess I didn't help.

[forrest]

As for Mercury motors.....I think their front line people let them down. I went through a lot of unnecessary hassle even contacting someone to answer a question about service manual supplements. On top of that they ended up telling me 'we do not give a way free manuals via a voice mail' (?!???). What the heck does obtaining a supplements to an exiting manual have to do with buying a brand new one? I eventually gave up.

In total it took me 5 phone calls and 2 emails to get an answer.

 

The industry may be in a slow down but Mercury employees have to take some of the blame.

 

It is a bit sad to say but "lazy", "dumb" or "uneducated about their own product" or often words that can be used to describe a lot of North American employees.

 

forrest

[SlowPoke]

Two things shock me about this statement...

- that it was only 50 employees (for now)

- they're selling the company jet/hanger

Selling the jet/hanger probably offset further layoffs in the hundreds over a long term. It sounds like a good faith, proactive move and it sends a good... errr.. a better message to the employees and public.

As for manufacturing in China; nobody likes to see jobs leaving the country and outsourcing but clearly this about stopping the bleeding and not maximizing profits. The sad part is that jobs won't likely return when the economy rebounds.

-Brian

[JohnC]

As the bumper sticker says....."Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign!!!"

[LundGuy]

As the bumper sticker says....."Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign!!!"

 

 

Unfortunately almost everything we buy in Canada is now being made in foreign countries, or they have moved here with big grants from our government.Our manufacturers have many of their plants now situated in places like Mexico. Example, American Standard Plumbing Fixtures, a Toronto firm , now has all their pottery made in Mexico. So its hard not to buy foreign, then again maybe we should take a little less and work a little harder, then just maybe we would be able to keep the manufacturers here.

[pikehunter]

maybe we should take a little less and work a little harder,

 

I don't see this the problem. It is upper management taking high salaries, big bonuses and plain simple greed, not the average joe or bottom management members that are busting their asses making low N. American standard wages that are the problem. Todays workers are stressed out and pushed harder and further everyday. Look at some of the incomes of these big shots! There are some countries with smaller national budgets than those people earn.

 

Have you read the list of Canadian public employees with salaries of over 1000 grand a year. It is amazing! Surprisingly I don't hear too many around here or anywhere else discussing that but at least it did make the news.

 

We should be standing up and patting the average guy or girl on the back instead of criticizing them and blaming their rotten $9/hr income! Oh right, one day that will be 10 bucks, WOW! Guess that is going to go along way at the Kia dealer.