We've been carefully watching Harley-Davidson for quite a while now, waiting to see how the company cuts $54 million out of its budget. It looks like changes are really starting to be made within Harley's ranks, as company officials have told salaried employees at the Springettsbury Township who will be laid off and who is staying.
The salaried workforce of approximately 260 will be whittled down to around 160, said Michael DiMauro, a local spokesperson for Harley-Davidson. "It's a very difficult process," he said.
Workers were called individually to discuss the changing role of their positions, as well as if their jobs would be cut. According to DiMauro, most of the employees who will lose their jobs are expected to stay on with the company through 2010 and into the first part of 2011. The salaried employees are not part of their local union.
If this is true, it's a striking example of how companies can do right by their employees, even while making tough decisions and cutting jobs. By letting employees know almost a year in advance that they're going to lose their jobs, they have plenty of time to look for new work elsewhere before getting axed.
Could this way of doing business hurt the workers' morale? Sure, but it's probably far easier this way than if the company took the easy route and pink slipped employees without any kind of advance notice (like most other employers have during the recession). Harley has gotten a lot of bad press recently, but this at least goes to show that the company still has heart (in my humble opinion, at least). We're interested in knowing what our readers have to say, though. Would you rather be fired without notice, the quick and easy way (like a Band-Aid), or would you prefer to be given plenty of advance notice, like Harley provided?
