By Shereen Siewert
About 50 employees will lose their jobs in Tomahawk at Harley-Davidson Inc., company officials confirmed this week.
The announcement comes weeks after the motorcycle maker withdrew its earnings forecast for this year, saying pandemic-induced disruptions could dent its ability to supply and sell motorcycles. The company then froze hiring and said no merit increases would be implemented.
“As course of normal business, Harley-Davidson regularly adjusts its production plan and appropriately sizes its workforce,” a company statement reads. “The company announced it will adjust its production volume, which will result in a workforce reduction of approximately 50 Tomahawk employees.”
In April, the company temporarily laid off most of its global production employees and implemented salary cuts in a bid to lower costs as the coronavirus pandemic hurt its business.
As part of the cost cuts, Harley said it would “significantly” reduce all non-essential spending.
Two months ago, the company’s chief executive officer and board of directors announced they would forgo their salaries, though the length of time involved was not specified.
