Mercury Marine Inc. will consolidate much of its Fond du Lac operations in its plant in Stillwater, Okla., after union members Sunday rejected contract concessions that would have included lower wages for new hires and employees called back from layoff.
The move could cost up to 800 jobs over the next several years, company officials said. The decision could also mean that Fond du Lac will lose Mercury Marine's world headquarters, which employs about 1,000 people.
Mercury said it expects to finalize details of state and local support programs over the next few days. Detailed plans and programs will be announced as they become available, and the company said it expects the full consolidation to take between 24 and 36 months.
“We appreciate the patient support of our employees and communities as we’ve gone through this process,” Mark Schwabero, president of Mercury Marine, said in a statement issued after the vote. “This has been a very difficult and stressful process for all involved. We will work closely with our team in Fond du Lac to develop and communicate a transition plan for this 24 to 36 month process.”
Mercury is attempting to decrease underutilization of its facilities to emerge from the economic downturn a stronger and more profitable company in a different, much smaller market, company management said.
The marine engine manufacturer employs about 1,900 workers in Fond du Lac, split about evenly between hourly production employees at its factory and salaried personnel at the company’s corporate headquarters.
Mercury Marine is a subsidiary of Lake Forest, Ill.-based Brunswick Corp. (NYSE: BC) with about $2 billion in annual revenue.
