Is Harley-Davidson Looking to Move out of Wisconsin? Hot

First they screw thier long time employees over after long years of dedication and helping HD become profitable. Worker and dealer morale and quality are at all time lows. In fact, the York PA plant will not have an open house this year. Rumor is that the employees plan on telling the customer how shitty the bikes have become in the past year.

Now, they plan on blackmailing Wisconsin into giving them millions to say like they did in PA. Will it work? I hope WI officials tell HD to go fly a kite.

I am a Harley stockholder, and I'm not too happy about what's been going on with HD. They screwed themselves (me) out of $150 million by shuttering Buell instead of coming to an agreement with Bombardier. Now they want to move (yeah, right) out of Wisconsin after just building the museum and all. What's it going to cost to build a new facility, train new workers, change the letterhead, .... ?

I just started riding and my first bike became a Honda. I've been thinking about what it would be like to have a Harley some day. But after reading this...and seeing episodes of "twist the throttle" in which Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha have been full 1-hour features AND after reading just a few of the comments here...I think I'll remain a Honda guy.

What a shame. And people ask the question about "...why aren't you buying AMERICAN...". Well, stories like this speak for themselves. Loyalty starts at the top and if the HD Execs don't give a damn about the company and are willing to sell-out or have to twist arms to get what they want, then who needs them anyway. But it is a shame for the average worker that would otherwise love to be a part of a quality brand and product. And an even bigger shame for American industry.

It is understandable why Harley has sent in headhunters to cut costs. But as a long time Harley customer, it truly bothers me to see this company blackmail local governments and their workers into concessions like they have done. I talked to an employee at the 105th anniversary in Milwaukee and was impressed with the knowledge and loyalty of that worker. 3 months ago I talked with several employees again in Milwaukee and got an earfull of negativity about the company that makes me reconsider future purchases. How they could turn these formerly cheerleading employees into loathing workers in a year or so is beyond me. I don't want my bike made by a bunch of temps who have no passion for the product. I agree with the author of the artice that the executive board is missing the big picture. I wish Harley well but if you lose your brand loyalty, you lose everything.

As a small business owner I understand the concept of cutting expenses and "cinching up the belt" to get through the hard times. What I don't get is how you justify buying real property when you can't afford to keep employees or their benefits. It is sad that loyalty to workers has diminished to having temp help who have no real tie or loyalty to the product they're assembling. To that I say, "the next bike that I get will be built in my own garage in Wyoming. Not some guy in Mexico who can't even read English."

Harley doesn't care about the little guy anymore. This is proven by what thier own workers say about the company and what they are doing to Wisconsin. If they were honest about business climate, that would be one thing. But this is the same stunt they [successfully] performed in the York plant and they are looking for a repeat performance. Remember when you were proud of Harley, what they brought to the community, how they elevated motorcycle culture, and how they worked so well with managers and union workers? I even studied this stuff in college about them. Those days are over. My loyalty is gone with thiers. I am sooooo glad I sold my stock before it started tanking.

Most people dont know that AMF bought Harley back in 69. But the reason they did was to bail them out> Everyone gives AMF a bad name when it comes to Harely, but without them they would be here anymore. They screwed the employee's and the product went downhill fast.The reason they did is cause they didnt take care of the front line people that poured their blood and tears into what made "their" company from the start. AMF built York and spent a bunch of money on R&D to help develop the evolution engine, which saved their asses.
Now most of the old timers have retired and the "new crew" thought they could walk in and make it better by making more money, but its not working.
I wish Willie G would get out of his R&D office and drive to 3700 W.Jueanue Ave, go to the 3rd floor and start throwing these new school guys out the windows.( And Willie call me and Ill help you with that).
Bring back the guys that actually live the sport and love the sport, and make better motors