MILWAUKEE _ Approximately 200 Harley-Davidson Inc. employees could face layoffs this fall as the company adjusts motorcycle production following recent slower sales.
Union sources said many of the layoffs will take place at Harley's assembly plant in York, Pa., but that a handful will occur at an engine plant in the Milwaukee suburb of Menomonee Falls, where the company employs approximately 1,000 people, and there will be approximately 35 layoffs at a plant in the northern Wisconsin city of Tomahawk. The York Daily Record reported that 117 of the layoffs will occur at the York plant, in Springettsbury Township, Pa., that employs approximately 950 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 75.
Harley-Davidson and other makers of cruiser and touring motorcycles have seen their sales fall in recent months. The U.S. market was far weaker than expected, Harley CEO Matt Levatich said following the company's recent second-quarter earnings announcement.
The company declined to give specifics on the layoffs Wednesday. But in an email, spokeswoman Maripat Blankenheim said: "The company continually reacts to industry and market changes to provide the best products and services to our customers. To that end, as we adjust our production plan to align with 2016 guidance, we are making the necessary changes to right-size the company. As a result, approximately 200 regular and casual union employees will be impacted across our U.S. plants. The majority of impacts are scheduled for the fourth quarter."
