Story originally printed in the Vernon Broadcaster or online at www.vernonbroadcaster.com
Published - Thursday, August 21, 2008
S&S lays off 60 workers mainly at Viola
The euphoria for S & S Cycle’s 50th anniversary in June has been short-lived.
Company President Brett Smith announced Friday that 60 workers have been cut this month through voluntary separation and layoffs.
“This was a very, very hard decision personally,” Smith said. “People I’ve known for years were impacted.”
He blamed the economic slump for a downturn in sales of the company’s high-performance engine parts and engines for motorcycles.
“In the grand scheme of things, we make a product that people don’t need to have,” he said.
All but two of the cuts were made at the company’s Viola site rather than the La Crosse location, Smith said.
The company on Aug. 4 offered voluntary separation packages that 33 employees — mostly in product development and sales and marketing — accepted, Smith said. They began leaving the company Aug. 8, he said.
Another 25 employees, primarily in production and manufacturing, were laid off by Friday, Smith said. The company called the layoffs “involuntary separations.”
“This decision was difficult for management and the family owners; however, we felt it was necessary in order for S&S Cycle to continue to pursue opportunities that will allow for future long-term growth,” S&S CEO George B. Smith and company president Brett Smith said in a joint announcement released on Tuesday morning.
S & S now employs a total of about 195 at both sites, Brett Smith said.
“We’re doing everything we can to become lean and consolidate our efforts for future long-term employment,” Smith said. “We don’t expect to be in this position forever.”
The company’s core business of bolt-on, high-performance, after-market components still is strong and growing, he said, but S & S had to take a pragmatic approach in an economic environment that’s seeing less disposable income.
“It’s a very unfortunate decision, coming on the heels of our 50th anniversary,” Smith said.
The S & S event, which drew an estimated 28,000 motorcycle enthusiasts to La Crosse in late June, played no role in the cutbacks, Smith said. Despite rumors, the cost of hosting the event was completely covered by sales of the 50 custom motorcycles made for the competition, he said, and the support of the community.
All stories copyright 2006 Vernon Broadcaster and other attributed sources.