The showroom at Sea Ray of Knoxville in 2004. Brunswick manufactures boats for Sea Ray.
By Roger Harris
Struggling boatmaker Brunswick Corp. said today it will temporarily suspend production at three manufacturing plants in the Knoxville area beginning the week of Oct. 27, furloughing workers through the end of they year.
The company also plans to cut 1,400 additional jobs and is closing plants in Minnesota, Oregon and Washington. A plant in Navassa, N.C., will be mothballed and could be reopened should consumer demand for Brunswick boats improve, company spokesman Dan Kubera said.
Brunswick said the cuts will save $300 million by the end of 2009.
Brunswick’s two Sea Ray plants in East Knoxville and one in Vonore employ about 1,800 people. Only workers directly involved in the manufacture of fiberglass boats will be furloughed. Nonproduction employees such as administration, marketing and customer service, will continue to work while production is suspended, Kubera said.
The Knoxville plants are scheduled to reopen in January, Kubera said.
Details are not final, but the company plans to help the furloughed workers while the plants are closed, Kubera said.
“We want to do as much as we can to help the folks through the end of the year,” Kubera said. “They’re good workers and we want to make sure they’re coming back in January.”
This is the second time this year Brunswick has suspended production and furloughed workers at the Knoxville plants. The plants were idle for the month of July.
During previous furloughs the company has done such things as continuing to provide medical benefits and allowing employees to take paid vacation, Kubera said.
The plant closings were announced earlier this year and were originally scheduled to take place in early 2009. However, the rapid decline in consumer demand forced the company to accelerate its time line. Kubera said.
“We are living and working in the most turbulent economic times in recent history,” Brunswick Chairman and CEO Dustan E. McCoy said in a statement. “From the start of the year, we’ve experienced a 3,500-point drop in the Dow, mortgage and housing crises, record prices for oil, and, now, shrinking credit availability for companies and individuals. The poor economy and the accompanying weak consumer sentiment have pressured marine markets, eroding the demand for boats and engines these past few months at a swifter pace than originally anticipated.”
Err….GCF…NIKE said that. And I concur, “Just Do It !!”
Joe Blow, you no to something, that is a GREAT idea!!!!!!!
…reduce their own salaries as well as P.S.s and their assistants.reduce all public workers to 4 days a week except police, health care workers, teachers, fire persomel…
Like Mike said “JUST DO IT”
It is of interest to note that all the states cut social and educational programs that help the marginalized and middle class but no talk of cutting spending in their own domain. At least the Bahamas government increased the social welfare benefits. as it should. Now if we can get them to cut out all the extraneous spending and maybe reduce their own salaries as well as P.S.s and their assistants. We could reduce all public workers to 4 days a week except police, health care workers, teachers, fire persomel.It is well known that most could get their workload accomplished in less than 3 days.
BREAKING NEWS>>> AROUND THE WORLD!
Island government has stepped in and taken over 3 national banks.
Russia Suspends trading as stocks fall by 10%. British and all Asian markets also tumble around the world!
IMF release Emergency Package to assist countries hit by the Global Financial Crisis.
GE is dragged down along with banks
General Electric is best known as an industrial powerhouse, with manufacturing prowess in businesses that range from giant generators to jet engines to alternative energy technologies like wind mills.
General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. saw their share prices plunge on Thursday as concerns grew that the struggling auto makers may not have enough cash to survive the deepening downturn in the U.S. economy.
GM, Ford Shares Fall on Cash Concerns
General Motors closed down 31%, or $2.15, at $4.76, and Ford fell 22%, or 58 cents, to $2.08, in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. GM, which hit an intraday low of $2.26, its lowest point since 1951, ended the day with a market value of $3.9 billion to Ford’s $6 billion.
States That Can’t Pay for Themselves
by Prashant Gopal
The Golden State, which recently scrambled to fill a $15 billion budget gap, still may not be able to meet its payroll without help.
California is going to Washington, D.C., to ask for $7 billion to cover its budget shortfall. Otherwise it won’t be able to pay for its teachers, cops, firemen, and other essential services. Unfortunately, California won’t be alone. A number of other states are experiencing a huge dive in tax revenue and could be going cap in hand to Uncle Sam alarmingly soon. How bad could it get? The potential cost for all the 31 states facing both major and minor shortfalls could be as much as $53.4 billion.
The data is based on a study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released at the end of September and shows the states that have seen the biggest shortfalls in tax revenue in their fiscal 2009 budgets.
California
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 22%
Gap: $22.2 billion
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger warned this week that the state might need to borrow $7 billion from the federal government, if credit markets don’t ease, to pay for salaries and other operating costs. The state, which has been battered by falling home prices and foreclosures, enacted a budget that imposed cuts to the state’s health insurance program for the poor and other social service programs.
Arizona
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 19.9%
Gap: $2 billion
Arizona was hit hard by the subprime crisis, and its economy has slowed significantly since mid-2006. Lawmakers, who had to make up a $2 billion budget shortfall for fiscal 2009, reduced the Medicaid rolls, put a freeze on hiring, and cut funding for community health centers and state universities.
Florida
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 19.9%
Gap: $5.1 billion
The Florida housing slump is one of the worst in the nation and only appears to be getting worse. The $66 billion Florida budget for the coming year is about $6 billion less than the one approved the previous year. It includes a $332 million reduction in public school spending and cuts to state hospitals, nursing homes, and various social programs.
Nevada
Wikipedia: Public Domain
Nevada
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 16%
Gap: $1.2 billion
Nevada has the worst foreclosure rate in the nation, and its economy has slowed dramatically this year. The governor capped the state’s children’s health program and increased children’s health-care premiums, and cut funding for K-12 education, higher education, and welfare.
Rhode Island
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 13.1%
Gap: $430 million
Rhode Island’s economy has been weakened by its housing market, one of the worst in the nation. Lawmakers are trying to make up for a $430 million shortfall in their budget with proposed cuts to the public college system and aid for municipalities, as well as tighter limits on welfare benefits.
New York
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 9.8%
Gap: $5.5 billion
New York, which had a $4.9 billion budget gap, faced an additional $630 million shortfall after the budget was enacted. The state made cuts to the health insurance program for low-income families, froze hiring, and enacted tax and fee increases.
Alabama
Anivron: Wikipedia
Alabama
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget):
9.5%
Gap: $784 million
Alabama closed some corporate tax loopholes, and made cuts to colleges and universities.
Georgia
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 8.7%
Gap: $1.8 billion
The state’s economy has been impacted by a slowing housing market. The governor has asked state agencies to cut 4% to make up an expected shortfall in the $21 billion budget for the coming fiscal year.
New Jersey
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 7.7%
Gap: $2.5 billion
The state’s economic slump is due to the weak housing market and rising inflation. The state legislature passed a $32.8 billion budget that is $600 million less than last year’s budget. New Jersey plans to trim the budget by offering early-retirement incentives for state employees and through attrition.
Maryland
BobDrzyzgula: Wikipedia
Maryland
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 7.2%
Gap: $1.1 billion
Maryland enacted a $1.35 billion tax increase in late 2007, which (along with $277 million in budget cuts passed by the General Assembly) is designed to help address the state’s deficit. However, a continuing economic weakness has led to an additional $270 million gap, which is likely to be addressed by further spending cuts.
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