Forty-eight Mercury employees took temporary and voluntary layoffs beginning February 18, and Mercury spokesperson Steve Fleming told the Fon du Lac Reporter “2008 could be a tough year for the company.” At the same time, Fleming says rumors of a permanent shutdown of the facility are indeed, only rumors, pointing out more than $55 million in capital improvements worldwide over the past year as evidence of the company’s overall strength.
Fleming told the newspaper “we anticipate 2008 to be a challenging year for the U.S. boating industry. As such, we will take steps to react to the situation throughout the year.”
Mercury says the temporary layoffs and work stoppages are needed to balance supply and demand, and that additional layoffs this year may be economic necessities.
Union workers went without paychecks this week in what president Mark Zillges says is a move to help prevent permanent layoffs in the future. Under the terms of the union contract, Mercury is allowed up to four shutdowns per year.
The contract between Mercury and the union is set to expire in June, but both Mercury and the union say contract talks are underway and “moving forward.”
Says Zillges, “we hope we can come to terms and survive these hard times.”
The 48 workers who volunteered for the temporary layoffs on February 18 will get their jobs back in June.
In January, Mercury Marine president Patrick Mackey announced his retirement and will leave that position on Saturday. Mackey, 61, has been with Brunswick since 2000. Brunswick Corporation, the parent company of Mercury, has not named a successor, but will determine after March 1 when and if Mackey will be replaced.
The last layoff of salaried employees at Mercury was in November 2006 when approximately 125 workers lost their jobs.
