5,400 Harley-Davidson Workers Take the Week Off, Turn Lemons into Lemonade
Harley-Davidson shut down factories in Wisconsin, Missouri, and Pennsylvania for a week, but according to Business Week, not all is lost. Tom Boger, the local union's business representative, was quoted as saying "People seem to be OK with it... it seems to be just no problem."
The article goes on to say that "the shutdown was well-timed to go with the start of deer hunting season in Pennsylvania, meaning workers wouldn't have to take days off to hunt," but on a more serious note, BW points out that Harley-Davidson's sales downturn might be extended into next year due to cautious spending as a result of rising oil prices and declining home sales.
How Harley's sales slump might affect their future product lineup is anybody's guess, but a bit of financial adversity might actually add some spice to the Motor Company's notoriously traditional bike building approach. Who knows... maybe they'll even consider importing the Europe-only XR 1200 to the U.S. After all, tough times call for radical measures, right?
Photo © Harley-Davidson
Comments
Interesting turn of events. I wish H-D no ill will, but they have ridden well on the boomer wave (extracting 38% gross profit and 18% net from the trend), but things are changing.
Also, unions have nearly killed Ford and GM while Toyota has cruised to the top. H-D’s union should take note.
One of the longer enduring companies in the country closes for a week, and the best reason they can come up with is to go and shoot wildlife!
What’s wrong with this picture??
I have owned 2 Harleys, a 1965 and a 2005 Fat Boy. I sold the Fat Boy Because its only purpose was as a status symbol and rode and shifted about as well as the 65.
Fugetaboutit, who knew that hd riders were such hunter enthusiasts and not just a bunch of sissys, fugetaboutit…