Mercury Marine is to temporarily lay off a further 1,700 workers.
The news follows on from the outboard manufacturer permanently laying off 250 employees in June 2024 and a further 100 earlier in the year.
The latest layoffs will affect hourly workers at the Fond du Lac headquarters and take place one week at a time for a total of between six and eight weeks from now until the end of the year as Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporation, adjusts its production plans.
The adjustments are said to coincide with the production schedules of Mercury Marine’s boatbuilder partners and were alluded to when the June layoffs were announced.
The latest announcement will impact the majority of Mercury’s hourly employees with officials at Mercury Marine stressing that these are not permanent layoffs but adjustments to right-size production in light of continued soft demand.
Mercury Marine’s products continue to gain market share around the world, but there has been a softening of demand for marine products across the globe, blamed on high interest rates and reduced production by boatbuilders that the company works with.
Mercury Marine employs more than 3,000 full-time employees in Fond du Lac and is said to makes an annual economic impact of about $5 billion to the community.
