This morning the MOCO said it was laying off 1100+ workers
they said the cause was low bike sales....

 

Harley is taking several actions to cut costs, including plant closures that would result in the elimination of 1,100 jobs, 12 percent of Harley's workforce. THE LINK

 

They should have ran the business the way they did awhile back where you actually had to order and wait for a bike as opposed to having a flooded market with all kinds of models. I feel bad for those that are getting cut. I know the shop that I work part time at I am down to 3 hours a week during the winter because it's a ghost town.

 

Why betray little people who would have loved to work for MOCO until their retirement ?. Why can't the Big Shots admit that they failed to do their job and say, "Ok, I'm going to cut my pay to ensure my employees stay and be happy to be employed with us ?."

Why would Harley do biz with the third party ?. My assumption's outside of America. Keep the jobs in America to employ the workers and negotiate by cutting their earning power.

Lastly, What does Wall Street have to do with the companies when they open their goddamn mouths and ruin them in the long run ?."

Domino-Effecting sucks !.

 

I don't want to trash unions but just like the auto industry with their unions HD has alot of union workers and the pay they are getting is probably more than most are getting. My thoughts would be either to get rid of or renegotiate with the unions for a lower wage and at least allow the employees to keep their job rather than the unions saying we are not going to negotiate and then force the company to go under and then you are in the unemployment line making a lot less money with no benefits.

 

Yeah, it's all the unions fault, always...................

 

no offense here but:
I love my ride. HD builds one of the finest pieces of machinery in the world IMHO. However, you stick a product on the market, then tell people this is the price you're going to pay and you can take it or leave it; to me that shows a bit of arrogance and not much common sense in a tumbling economy. You wanna sell your products, then market and sell them and leave a little room for negotiation. Who the hell doesn't like the feeling of driving away from a dealership knowing they got a better deal than they would have just walking in the door?

As far as accessories are concerned; same applies. Their parts prices are just absolutely F*CKING ridiculous! the sad part about it is that people like me who want to keep their rides "genuine" will continue to pay those prices.

my .32 worth!

 

....................And that's the sad part. You say "GENUINE" but most of the accessories you install are NOT made in the USA.

I do agree, whole heartedly. But it will never happen, greed is a corporate way of life.

 

Well this time it is the unions. The sad part is the bailout doesn’t fix the problems it drags it on because it doesn’t force the unions to cut wages and retirement.

As for cutting cost, everyone forgets that there is a used bike market. If the prices of the new bikes are dropped close to the price of a used bike, then that is dumping on the market and that forces a spiral in the cost of all the bikes. If and when the economy swings back, Harley would be left competing against its used bikes. This is what happened to the American Car industry in the last 20 years and they never recovered. Except for trucks and SUVs, car makers have been their own worst competition because they couldn’t get their prices high enough to make a profit. Harley is better in the long run to lay folks off and down size so they can stay competitive and make a profit.

Beary

 

Have you gone to a Walmart? Lets be honest, greed is everyone's way of life. Nobody goes into business hoping to loose money and most people try to get the best deal they can find. The "Buy America First" doesn't help the problem. If a company wants to survive by making American goods, they have to compete because lets face it, all things being equal, folks get the best deal to save a dollar.

For me, I don't care where it is made, I want quality and I am willing to pay a little more for quality. As for cars, well the American car makers are darn lucky that I like Muscle cars and V8 engines. But, if Pelosi has her way and forces the American car makers to make the changes she is proposing with the bail out money, then the Muscle cars are doomed and I see a Nisson Z350 Convertible in my future. I was really hoping for that new Camero.

If you want to save American jobs, the new slogan should be "Quality at a fair price".

Beary