The WAIT is over.
Sometimes, fame comes to York. The famous author, John Grisham wrote about York, PA in “The Associate” as it was the main characters hometown. In fact, many of its residents have gone on to fame.
But, in the case of Harley-Davidson the bleak economy means financial fame in York.
It’s been a rough year for the factory tour capital of the world. After a reduction of over 600 employees earlier this year the company announced today it will keep its operations in York, after ratifying a new labor agreement with IAMAW which involves nearly a 50% cut in jobs. Under the new agreement structure, the plant will have about 1,000 hourly workers reduced from the current level of 1,950. Of the 1,000 workers, 700-800 will be full-time unionized workers and about 200-300 will be unionized “casual” staff, who work according to seasonal demand and as managers deem.
H-D expects to have about 150 salaried employees, or a little more than half of the current number. The company will invest about $90 million in the restructuring of the plant and expects about $200 million in restructuring charges tied to the plant into 2012. The restructuring is expected to generate about $100 million in annual operating savings compared with the current structure.
Many claimed that H-D employees were out-of-touch with the ‘real’ work world. But, being faced with the prospect of operations moving to Kentucky they voted to cut their workforce, change their work rules to allow managers to shift workers around to various tasks in the plant and agreed that new hires will earn significantly less.
Sure it’s a positive note in a sea of bad news, but isn’t that just the point, the plethora of bad news? The companies statement can be read in full HERE.
Northwest Harley Blog 