Harley-Davidson Lays Off 40 Milwaukee Workers
Manufacturing jobs may be safe for now, but Harley-Davidson is aggressively refocusing its general merchandising efforts.
Things haven’t been easy for Harley-Davidson lately. Motorcycle sales are down industry-wide, and Harley-Davidson’s expansive – and expensive – product lineup seems to be bearing the brunt of the dip.
Companies are looking to pinch pennies any way they can. In Harley-Davidson’s case, that means that they laid off 40 employees last week, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
According to an unnamed company official, these layoffs do not impact Harley-Davidson’s manufacturing division. Instead, all 40 of the layoffs came from Harley-Davidson’s general merchandise division.
From what we can tell, the general merchandise division handles branded products – everything from Harley-Davidson tee-shirts to dog collars. We’re not sure how big this department is, but given the sheer volume of branded Harley-Davidson merchandise out there, we’d have to imagine it’s pretty large.
Still, 40 layoffs would utterly gut just about any office we’ve ever worked in. According to a response from Harley-Davidson, the layoffs are part of a restructuring plan. A representative stated that their aim is to manage its merchandising business with “focus and ambition.”
The raw numbers tell more of the story. In 2018, Harley-Davidson’s general merchandise division accounted for roughly 5% of the company’s total revenue for the year. However, for the first half of 2019, the general merchandise division reported a 4.2% decline over last year.
We’d imagine that it’s easier to sell a $30 tee-shirt than a $30,000 motorcycle. In fact, we regularly see people who don’t even own or ride motorcycles wearing Harley-Davidson branded clothing. It’s an American institution, and a bit of a tough-guy fashion statement with some people.
When you look at it that way, it seems that a dip in merchandise sales should be taken just as seriously, if not more so, than a dip in motorcycle sales. From what we can tell, Harley-Davidson is being proactive here, and trying to right the ship.
It’s a smart move. Back to the seafaring analogy, it’s easier to change course when you first see a problem – it’s too late to make the change after the hull is already filling with water. Here’s hoping that the newly reorganized general merchandise division can help to turn things around for Harley-Davidson.
Photos: Harley-Davidson
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