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[jachd17]

Moco is laying off 169 employees at it Kansas City plant in May. Thoughts? Opinions?

[Chains]

One can only think they have built their product for the season or have further automated assembly.

[grc]

Moco is laying off 169 employees at it Kansas City plant in May. Thoughts? Opinions?

Hard to have an opinion when no facts are presented.  Any idea WHY they are laying off 169 employees, and whether these are seniority employees or temporary part timers?

Jerry

[hdbrad03]

Harley-Davidson Inc. says the layoffs are effective May 11 at the Kansas City, Mo., plant and are expected to continue through September. The company says the layoffs reflect production needs, the outsourcing of work performed at the off-site Materials Velocity Center some related sub-assembly work.

 

   Brad

[2 ROSE]

The following is from yahoo financial...for what that's worth...

Harley Davidson (HOG) is downshifting, with investors pushing the shares down by more than 3%. The hog maker says it will cut 169 workers at its Kansas City, Missouri plant. That amounts to "cost cutting," which investors usually like, but Wells Fargo (WFC) says this could be a "tip-off" that demand is slowing for bikes. Even so, Wells still rates Harley a buy. The rest the Street seems unconvinced, with shares down by more than 10% this year. Sales are falling in Canada and rivals are catching up to Harley with more affordable rides.

Hmmmm...I find that last sentence quite interesting.

[2 ROSE]

 APPARENTLY KANSAS CITY IS NOT THE ONLY PLACE!!!
 
 
Harley offers voluntary layoffs in Wisconsin
March 13, 2015 • 16:45PM

(Reuters) - Harley-Davidson Inc is offering voluntary layoffs to hourly workers at three plants in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area to reduce staff by about 26 percent, giving itself flexibility to hire seasonal workers.
The company began making requests for the voluntary layoffs the week of December 5. Workers have until December 23 to decide. It makes motorcycle engines and parts at the plants.
Harley-Davidson's plan for the layoffs was first announced in September 2010 as part of a new seven-year contract with about 950 union workers. It plans to lay off about 250 workers as of next April and hire 150 to 250 temporary employees for seasonal production spikes.
While Harley-Davidson's hourly workers are not paid a set salary, they are considered part of the company's overall headcount and are protected by union contracts that require negotiations on a variety of matters, including downsizing or changes to benefits.
Harley-Davidson spokeswoman Maripat Blankenheim said the company would wait until the December 23 deadline before deciding whether to implement involuntary layoffs.
Harley-Davidson, based in Milwaukee, has been retooling several aspects of its business since Keith Wandell became chief executive in 2009. In addition to restructuring its workforce and factories, the company has begun focusing on attracting a wider range of buyers in the United States and emerging markets.
It expects to save $50 million annually starting in 2013 due to changes in its contract with Wisconsin workers.
Workers affected by the contract are represented by the United Steelworkers and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Harley-Davidson has manufacturing sites in a handful of Wisconsin cities, including Wauwatosa, Tomahawk and Menomonee Falls.
Last week, 3M Co sent early retirement offers to nearly 5,000 U.S. employees. Unlike Harley-Davidson's offer, which was telegraphed well in advance, 3M's was part of a recent effort to conserve cash and contain costs.
While profitable, Harley-Davidson has seen a substantial decline in volume from high sales levels in the middle of the last decade.
When the deal with the USW and IAM was struck in 2010, Harley-Davidson's U.S. retail sales were on their way to an 11.7 percent decline from 2009. The company's sales have recovered in 2011 but are still well below previous highs.
In 2009, Harley-Davidson laid out a plan to eliminate 2,700 to 2,900 hourly production positions and about 720 non-production positions through 2011. The latest layoff offers are in addition to that plan.
(Reporting By John D. Stoll; editing by John Wallace)
 more news in news »

 

[JCZ]

The MoCo says they listen to their customers in their sales propoganda.

The fact of the matter is that they haven't listened to us....they're focus has always been the stock holders.  Now the stocks are taking a hit and so is the employees.  We, the owners have already taken a hit.....with poor quality control.

Do you think they'll listen and pay attention to us now?  Naw.....they all do that.

[agedwards63]

Be worried if you hear York is laying off, KC makes the models that haven't been hot sellers for years (Vrod, Dyna & Sportster) it only stands to reason there would be a little downsizing there

[grc]

Be worried if you hear York is laying off, KC makes the models that haven't been hot sellers for years (Vrod, Dyna & Sportster) it only stands to reason there would be a little downsizing there

Haven't been hot sellers for years, and yet H-D hasn't done anything to change that.  With typical short term "maximize profits and share price to enhance my bonus" thinking, they've been putting all the eggs in the Touring basket.  Now they are raping the customers with cheapened products at inflated prices, and there are finally some competitors who can offer good products at better prices.  I'm thinking some of those investors are smart enough to see how H-D has painted itself into a corner.

Jerry

[charles05663]

Haven't been hot sellers for years, and yet H-D hasn't done anything to change that.  With typical short term "maximize profits and share price to enhance my bonus" thinking, they've been putting all the eggs in the Touring basket.  Now they are raping the customers with cheapened products at inflated prices, and there are finally some competitors who can offer good products at better prices.  I'm thinking some of those investors are smart enough to see how H-D has painted itself into a corner.

Jerry

And of course, HD's CEO Keith E. Wandell has the inside information and I suspect he saw the writing on the wall and figured he would cash out before the stock collapses.

I hope it is the quality of Indian and Victory bikes pushing HD's sales down.  Maybe after Wandell is gone, they will wake up and smell the coffee and realize that while there are hard core HD riders who will only ride HDs, the vast majority really don't care or can't afford the over priced lower(ed) quality bikes.

I hope that there is a turn like the post-AMF days where it is about the bikes and they decide that quality is the #1 priority.  The US auto industry learned that lesson the hard way.

 

[2 ROSE]

 We will just have to see where this all leads. When things start to go south it is the customer who usually takes the first hit by way of cost cutting i.e. lower quality products. Then it is the employee via layoffs closely followed by wage and benefits concessions. If none of that works then it will finally get to the share holders but by then it is usually to late.
Hmmm...I wonder if the Moco is too big to fail...I also wonder what type of Harley the government would put out...just saying. 

[Para Bellum]

I also wonder what type of Harley the government would put out

Scary thought   

[grc]

We will just have to see where this all leads. When things start to go south it is the customer who usually takes the first hit by way of cost cutting i.e. lower quality products. Then it is the employee via layoffs closely followed by wage and benefits concessions. If none of that works then it will finally get to the share holders but by then it is usually to late.
Hmmm...I wonder if the Moco is too big to fail...I also wonder what type of Harley the government would put out...just saying. 

Obviously enough folks in our government thought so back in the 80's, when they gifted H-D by adding huge import duties on Japanese bikes.  Those of us who rode Japanese bikes back in those days took it in the ear so Harley could try to survive their own stupidity and mismanagement.  Sadly, it seems Harley has a hard time managing success and prosperity, so if my crystal ball is accurate Uncle will probably be asked to help them out again in what remains of my lifetime.  And this time they will use the help to pack up the tools and move production to India and China, just like so many other companies have done thanks to the largess of our Uncle.

Jerry 

[Harley Guy]

IF....

HD is not making money, there are two ways to improve:
.
1 - increase sales
2 - reduce costs.
.
It is as simple as that or you go out of business.
.
There are many ways to increase sales and many ways to reduce costs. Unless we have inner knowledge of the operations of HD, we are only surmising on what the correct path forward is. I doubt that they woke up one morning and said LAYOFFS, without analyzing and further analyzing options - again based on the knowledge of the operations of HD.
.
Shareholder elect the Board of Directors and The Board elects the officers. It is though, a bit of a closed system.
.
RIDE ON......spring is almost here!!!!

[CVOStreetglide]

IF....

HD is not making money, there are two ways to improve:
.
1 - increase sales
2 - reduce costs.
.
It is as simple as that or you go out of business.
.
There are many ways to increase sales and many ways to reduce costs. Unless we have inner knowledge of the operations of HD, we are only surmising on what the correct path forward is. I doubt that they woke up one morning and said LAYOFFS, without analyzing and further analyzing options - again based on the knowledge of the operations of HD.
.
Shareholder elect the Board of Directors and The Board elects the officers. It is though, a bit of a closed system.
.
RIDE ON......spring is almost here!!!!

You can also increase price which will increase profits IF we customers are willing to pay the new increases.

On that hote, I am wondering if the HD strategy is exactly that--fewer bikes at higher prices and hopefully better quality.  This business of loading the showrooms up with bikes--betting on the come- is becoming very risky.

The better strategy would be a improved suppy chain management and delivery process. 

I think that's where we will see things heading. A good sample of the models offered and a order delivery process that puts your new (perhaps customized) bike in your driveway or at your dealer in 2 weeks from order.

Many of us are already doing most all of our routine maintenance. The $100 plus/hr oil changes and tire checks are reaching if only for principle, a cost many of us are unwilling to pay any longer.
The result, fewer and fewer dealership mechanics on the line.

Despite all of our grubling I think many will agree that the motors and transmissions coming out of the motor company today are a lot better than in the past. Catastrophic motor failures are few and when they do occur under warranty at least, you are just as likely to get a new motor in leiu of a rebuid mainly because its quicker and less expensive.

It's going to be interesting going forward.......