Brunswick looks to trim US$35m, additional layoffs coming

More layoffs are instore at Brunswick Corp subsidiaries as the company announces plans to produce up to US$35m in “cost reductions”, suggesting details will be delivered during a quarterly earning conference call with stock market analysts on Thursday.

Brunswick announced at the end of last month the elimination of “corporate support positions” following the sale of its fitness business and IBI reported at that time a “temporary work stoppage” on certain production lines at Brunswick’s Mercury Marine engine division.

“These actions will reduce cost in our marine operations and are consistent with the right-sizing of our corporate functional support organisation announced last month,” said Brunswick CEO David Foulkes in a statement. “Together, these enterprise-wide programs will result in a reduction of approximately US$50m in annual run-rate costs, due in large part to a nine percent reduction in our global salaried workforce.”

Brunswick spokesperson Lee Gordon, in an e-mail exchange this morning with IBI, wrote that the 9% reduction represents approximately 400 salaried positions across Brunswick division globally, with no breakdown by division yet available.

According to the statement, “the large majority of actions announced today have already been implemented. There will be a partial-year impact in 2019, and almost all the US$50m of cost reductions will have a full-year impact in 2020.”

Brunswick expects to record restructuring charges of $7m associated with these actions.