Hi Gang, Rick here from Bayliner Boats with more tough news coming out of the boating industry. Sea Ray Boats will eliminate 350 jobs by midyear at its Merritt Island plant because of slumping demand for boats, the company said Thursday.
That will leave Sea Ray with about 850 employees at its Merritt Island campus, said Dan Kubera, director of media relations and corporation communications for Lake Forest, Ill.-based Brunswick Corp., Sea Ray's parent company.
Sea Ray will stop production of some boat models on Merritt Island after June, and move production of those models to its plant in Palm Coast and its two plants in Knoxville, Tenn., Kubera said.
Sea Ray said it anticipates adding 270 jobs at the Palm Coast and Knoxville plants to handle the additional models, resulting in a net loss of 80 company jobs related to the 350-person Merritt Island staff reduction.
"The Sea Ray and Merritt Island leadership teams will be working diligently to transfer as many employees as possible and practical between the various Sea Ray manufacturing facilities and other Brunswick Boat Group locations," the company said in a statement.
"For those employees who do not have the opportunity or do not wish to transfer, severance will be provided," the company said. Sea Ray told employees about the job cuts Thursday.
"This difficult decision was reached in part because of the continuing challenging U.S. marine market, which since late 2005 has experienced very soft demand," the company said.
"Based on various indicators, Sea Ray expects that demand will further weaken during 2008, and is taking measures to decrease its production to better control the supply of boats in the marine pipeline," the statement added.
"This must be done to protect the overall health of the business, as well as that of Sea Ray dealers."
The part of the Merritt Island campus that will be affected by the job cuts -- both hourly and salaried positions -- is called the Merritt Island Manufacturing Facility.
The company does not plan to sell the facility, and eventually may find another use for it, Kubera said.
Siutated off State Road 528 and North Courtenay Parkway, the Sea Ray campus also has two other parts -- the Sykes Creek Plant and a Production Development and Engineering facility -- that will not be affected, according to Kubera.
He said Sea Ray will continue to produce its larger boats at the Sykes Creek Plant since that segment of the market has not been hurt as much as the segment for smaller boats.
Kubera said moving production of some models from Merritt Island to Palm Coast and Knoxville offers some logistical advantages for the company.
The job cuts are "no reflection on the abilities and performance of the Merritt Island work force," the company said.
"It is, however, a necessary decision forced upon Sea Ray by one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the U.S. marine industry."
The company said this decision "has no further impact on other Sea Ray or Brunswick Boat Group manufacturing locations in Florida, including those at Sykes Creek and Edgewater."
Sea Ray has had a manufacturing presence on Merritt Island since 1972, Kubera said.
Thanks to FLORIDA TODAY staff writer Wayne T. for this story.
Contact Blake at 242-3644 or sblake@floridatoday.com.
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