NEW YORK MILLS, Minn. - June 14, 2005 - Following on news of temporary shut-downs earlier this year, Lund Boats has laid off approximately 145 workers at its factory in New York Mills, Minn.
The layoffs, which represent about 25 percent of the nearly 560 people employed by the Brunswick Corp.-owned boat builder, include both hourly and salaried positions, KSTP reported.
Lund has now reduced production to a single day shift, according to the TV station. And it plans to operate with the smaller work force "until the market strengthens."
The company attributed the layoffs to a drop in market demand due to "a long period of cool and rainy weather," the TV station reported.
But in a February interview with former Brunswick Boat Group Aluminum Division President Fred Brightbill, it was revealed that a large buy by Brunswick from Yamaha and Genmar at the time of Brunswick's acquisition of Lund may also be playing a role in the company's recent struggles.