17512 Columbia

more of the “new normal”: a gory, hoary story of transformation

The article (that follows our comments) is from the York Daily Record and is another harbinger of the new society.

This is our unvarnished take on the article when we included these figures:

  • Harley reported a $146.5 million profit in 2010, compared with a $55.1 million loss in 2009.
  • Harley-Davidson Inc. CEO Keith Wandell received compensation valued at $6.4 million in 2010.

Our interpretation: More money for those at the top and (maybe) shareholders – more stress, unemployment and uncertainty for everyone else!!! This is the “new normal.”

Breaking down the Harley restructuring: Now and then

The motorcycle maker is on track to execute its restructuring plan in Springettsbury Township.
 
By LAUREN BOYER, Daily Record/Sunday News
 
York, PA – At Harley-Davidson, they call it, simply, “the restructuring.”But don’t let thename mislead you.It’s a complex network of efficiency-related requirements laid out in a 2009 contract accepted by union workers in exchange for keeping the motorcycle assembly plant in Springettsbury Township.Two years later, Harley is on track to execute the multi-million dollar plan in York County, with operations in Wisconsin and Kansas City, Mo., following by example.The project is slated for completion in 2012. Here’s a rundown of some of the details:$90 million: money the company expects to spend on capital expenditures through 2012 related to restructuring of its York County operations.$510-$525 million: money the company expects to spend on the companywide restructuring, which includes operations in Wisconsin and Kansas City, Mo.$305-$325 million: money the company expects to save annually when restructuring activities are completed in 2012.More than 100: number of automated guided carriers, robotic smart carts, that will carry bikes along magnetic tape in the company’s new assembly line.1,000: number of feet of magnetic tape, that a bike will travel along before completion on the new assembly line.60: number of stations in-process bikes will stop at along the new assembly line.

150: approximate number of salaried employees the Springettsbury Township factory will have in 2012, when the restructuring is complete.

800: approximate number of full-time production employees the factory will have in 2012.

1,200: number of workers currently at the York County plant.

More than 2,000: number of workers at the factory in 2009, when union employees agreed on restructuring, in lieu of moving the plant out of York County.

335,000: square-footage of the company’s pre-renovation Softail production facility

600,000: square-footage of the company’s renovated Softail production facility, which will house production of Softail, Trike and Touring motorcycles by this fall.

1.5 million: square-footage of the company’s operations in 2009, before restructuring activities began.

73,000: number of hours in mid-May that the company had spent, to date, training employees on its new processes.

58: acreage of the company’s West Campus, purchased by the York County Economic Development Corporation, who will look for a buyer.

62: number of different job titles held by workers in 2009, before restructuring activities.

5: number of different job titles held by workers today.

210,494: number of bikes Harley-Davidson, as a whole, shipped in 2010.

$259.7 million: Harley-Davidson’s income for fiscal year 2010.

Leave a comment