Topic: Harley Threatens to close KC plant

[Duke McDukiedook]

These guys are really beginning to get my goat, wouldn't want to lower prices on the bikes, No, no, we'll just wring it out of the employees to make the stock price go up.  

Just like they screwed over the employees in Milwuakee. 

http://www.kmbc.com/money/25638045/detail.html

God I wish they would just go out of business.  

[Don R]

That's how the corporate problem solving playbook runs, it must be the fault of the employee's, find a few well paid scapegoats, eliminate their jobs, get a few scared underlings to carry the load. Cut pay and bennies, If people would just work until they die and quit when they get sick we wouldn't need all these pesky benefits anyway... Oh, sorry was I ranting?

[dave500]

if they close a harley factory?,im trying to think of a joke to make up here,umm,err,ahh,less imitation harley shirts will be sold?its not really funny is it?.or how about the world will be a quieter place?or,less posers and more riders will result?the chrome industry will collapse?sad to see more jobs go though.

[Jordan]

Lawyers and Doctors would have to go back to golfing on the weekends instead of making road hazards of themselves.

[spot45]

Well as a Harley Davison Corporate Bond holder this doesn't surprise me at all.  The company itself has saturated its core market. Not to mention there are enough used bikes out there that one can buy fairly reasonably. They need to look abroad in order to grow and remain profitable.  Harley's management is very scared at what happened with the american car manufacturerers and they do not want that to happen to them.   So they are doing this as a way to scare the unions so that they come to talk.  Remeber the UAW does not like to give concessions.  If anyone forgot just go and ask the Chairman of Diamler-Benz, about the UAW.  If Harley Davison doesn't do something like this then you just kiss goodbye perhaps the oldest continueing operating American motorcycle manufacturer.

[Bob Wessner]

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/HD_News/Company/newsarticle.jsp?locale=en_US&articleLink=News/0893_press_release.hdnews&newsYear=2010&history=news

There was news segment about this not long ago. Apparently, Harley's are pretty big in India however, import duties there nearly double the cost of a complete bike. To get around this, HD is building an assembly plant there and importing the parts only. The reduction in import duties on parts vs. a complete bike is pretty dramatic. Obviously HD hopes this will make their products more affordable to a larger segment of the Indian population.

[DH]

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/HD_News/Company/newsarticle.jsp?locale=en_US&articleLink=News/0893_press_release.hdnews&newsYear=2010&history=news

There was news segment about this not long ago. Apparently, Harley's are pretty big in India however, import duties there nearly double the cost of a complete bike. To get around this, HD is building an assembly plant there and importing the parts only. The reduction in import duties on parts vs. a complete bike is pretty dramatic. Obviously HD hopes this will make their products more affordable to a larger segment of the Indian population.

Harley Davidsons made in India....Hmmmmm...Wonder how well that idea will be received?

[Bob Wessner]

Assembled in India. Parts will still be supplied by whomever they are here, which I suspect is the usual mixture of U.S.-made and foreign-made parts.

[BobbyR]

Well as a Harley Davison Corporate Bond holder this doesn't surprise me at all.  The company itself has saturated its core market. Not to mention there are enough used bikes out there that one can buy fairly reasonably. They need to look abroad in order to grow and remain profitable.  Harley's management is very scared at what happened with the american car manufacturerers and they do not want that to happen to them.   So they are doing this as a way to scare the unions so that they come to talk.  Remeber the UAW does not like to give concessions.  If anyone forgot just go and ask the Chairman of Diamler-Benz, about the UAW.  If Harley Davison doesn't do something like this then you just kiss goodbye perhaps the oldest continueing operating American motorcycle manufacturer.

We need Harley to stay in business since we need manufacturing jobs here in the US. I leased two Lincolns 3 years ago, when I read the sticker on my Wife's MKZ I expected parts sourced from offshore, it has the Mazda AWD drivetrain which I understand. When I get to the bottom line it says ASSEMBLED IN MEXICO. Did I lease an American car!

[754]

I have always been puzzled by Folks in  the USA that cant understand H-Ds costing a lot more than Japan products.

[tramp]

tough times these last few years
i understand the theory about not dropping prices
but to get rid of employee's instead kinda sucks

[goon 1492]

I ran into a guy here in KC 3 months ago and he said they are gonna close the plant. This is just a way to make it look like their tryin. Pretty sad.
I went to Worth Harley Davidson North up by the KCI airport and the saleman caught me drooling over one of the two used night rods they had. After we talked for a bit he had explained to me how they had a new 09' night rod that he could get me into cheaper than the two used ones because they were tryin to clear space for the 2010 models. 13,500$ for the new one.
I pee'd alittle when he said that.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Save jobs. Employees continue to pay taxes and not collect unemployment, get paid less, not nothing. They have the right to quit and find another job if that can't make a concession. They nor unions own the company nor should they think they have the power to run it either. Save the business. Responsible to the share holders(owners). What part of this do we not understand?! Lower prices of bikes = less income with MORE potential to bankrupt.

Sorry but I can't agree with anti-business sentiment especially when the world is going down the #$%*ter.

[Frankenkit]

If they made harleys affordable, then everyone would have a harley, and they would no longer be 'cool'.  They just can't have that.

[Retro Rocket]

Save jobs. Employees continue to pay taxes and not collect unemployment, get paid less, not nothing. They have the right to quit and find another job if that can't make a concession. They nor unions own the company nor should they think they have the power to run it either. Save the business. Responsible to the share holders(owners). What part of this do we not understand?! Lower prices of bikes = less income with MORE potential to bankrupt.

Sorry but I can't agree with anti-business sentiment especially when the world is going down the #$%*ter.

Let me get this right, #$%* everything in favour of a poorly run business making it at the employee's expense...?   You must be kidding right. Here's an idea, try and make the business more viable and stop ripping off the little guys......Don't you lot have award wages in the US.? If the business can't be run because it is too expensive then blame your friggin government and big businesses for killing off local production by taking all production off shore, same thing is happening here as well. I'll bet you the boards wages don't change.

Mick

[spot45]

Yes we do but the way it is practiced it comes out to getting more money for poor to average job performance.  That is not the way I would want to have affairs in my business run.  Trust me I have owned and ran a business.  A lot of what is going on has to do with how Harley is being run by its current management.  This forum is not the place for me to get into detail about Harley Davison and the motorcycle industry as a whole.  If you were to find me somewhere else off of here I would be happy to talk to you about it.  But from what I have seen and know there will be some big changes going on at Harley Davison.  But they will not hopefully go the way of Indian and Excelsior.

[BobbyR]

+1 I work for a Company that also makes Motorcycles. They did not extend discounts except to employees from that division. Yesterday I heard they want us to be one big family, so we will get the discount. This means they have inventory to burn off. So Harley is not the only one feeling the squeeze.

There was a HD dealership in White Plains NY called Reggie Pink. It was around since the 1950's they kept it small, high volume and good service, it was a Bike shop not a T Shirt shop. Harley forced them into a huge building. Earlier this year it closed suddenly. The kids said, they would have been fine if they had been left alone.   

[Damfino]

+1 I work for a Company that also makes Motorcycles.

Now it all makes sense....Bobby works for OCC!......

[Don R]

Maytag did that here, they made ridiculous concession demands to the union hoping they would say no so the plant closing would be the unions fault. Surprise! The union agreed to the concessions and they closed anyway.

[754]

 I dont know about Honda in the states,
 but..
 Up here you cant be multi brand anymore.. if you want to stay Honda, you become POWERHOUSE..

 Honda motorcycles, and most of the other Honda stuff, except for cars and aircraft..

 Reminds me a bit of the Motor Company jacking around the dealers that brought them were they were.. ebay a but too... uggghhhh..

[Duke McDukiedook]

Maytag did that here, they made ridiculous concession demands to the union hoping they would say no so the plant closing would be the unions fault. Surprise! The union agreed to the concessions and they closed anyway.

Biiiiiiiingooooooooooooooo!!!!!!

And the stocks don't skip a beat.

[Skonnie Boy]

I love it when a company asks the workers to pay for the sins of the management.  If you're not trying to grow your customer base and reintroduce yourself to a new class of consumer, you are the business equivalent of the Latin language.  Shame on Harley for once again resting their fat asses on their laurels.  Just when the kids were starting to do something with custom culture again, Harley proves unable to move to the beat.  Again.  What a waste of heritage.

[spot45]

Harley is a conservative company.  It you  must understand that is how its management is as well.  Also remeber that the motorcycle here in the states is consider a recreational vechile, not a means of transportation.  If you ever go outside of the United States the motorcycle is seen as a means of transportation, not a recreational vechile.  I can tell you volumes about Harley's management,marketing stragies, etc. but here is not the place for it.  If you guys get the chance to corner me at one the AMCA meets I would be happy to talk to you about Harley Davision and its Corporate culture.   It is also very sad when a very old dealer has to close its doors.

[Jordan]

I think it might be Davidson. Anyway, it is how a business is run. Around here I have been seeing a lot of brand name gasoline stations suddenly closing. How does that happen? ie captive repeat customers, and the ability to charge a price that changes all the time usually up! Has to be management or owners siphoning too much from the trough. But hey this is america where you can screw it up and get free money from those suckers they call taxpayers. And all you need is some bloated pig in washington to label your business to big to fail and you're spot at the trough is set for life. And now obama-lama wants to give out more. Where is the bailout for the regular people that are losing everything in spite of following the rules and doing everything right? Ooops there I go with a politico rant !!! sorry I know it was banned..... won't happen again!

[spot45]

Actually neither the Harleys or the Davisons have anything to do with the motor company any more.  A lot of it had to do with the second or third generation from the founders having other careers then running being involved with day to day operations of the company.  The motor company today is controlled by outside investors, and they are the ones who call the shots.