Ranger Boats Lays Off 130 Over Credit-market Woes
By The Associated Press
11/13/2008 5:12:45 PM
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FLIPPIN, Ark. (AP) _ Ranger Boats has laid off 130 workers at its manufacturing plant in northern Arkansas, saying the credit market has hindered dealers from stocking the company's new sport-fishing boats.
Randy Hopper, president of Ranger Boats, told The Associated Press the layoffs represent just under 20 percent of the company's 750 workers. Those laid off Wednesday include manufacturing workers as well as employees in other departments.
Hopper said the credit crisis gripping the market made it hard for dealers to purchase the company's boats wholesale. That slowdown could extend into the spring, when customers traditionally buy the boats on credit as well, he said.
"We're not so naive to believe the retail is going to be as good as normal when it gets to be springtime unless we get some changes in the finance markets and things," Hopper said Thursday.
Ranger Boats also will extend its Christmas shutdown from 10 days to nearly three weeks this year, hoping to match market demand.
"We've laid some people off and hope to get them back," Hopper said. "The economy's kind of tough right now and we're hoping to outperform the market."
Ranger Boats is owned by Minneapolis-based Genmar Holdings Inc., a group of boat companies with about 6,000 employees and more than $1 billion in annual sales.
By The Associated Press
11/13/2008 5:12:45 PM
<TABLE style="DISPLAY: inline; MARGIN: 3px 0px 15px 15px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=200 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=size1 vAlign=top width=200><TABLE style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 15px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" borderColor=#adadad cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width="100%" border=1><TBODY><TR><TD class=size1 vAlign=top noWrap align=middle width="50%" bgColor=#eeeeee>Change font size
FLIPPIN, Ark. (AP) _ Ranger Boats has laid off 130 workers at its manufacturing plant in northern Arkansas, saying the credit market has hindered dealers from stocking the company's new sport-fishing boats.
Randy Hopper, president of Ranger Boats, told The Associated Press the layoffs represent just under 20 percent of the company's 750 workers. Those laid off Wednesday include manufacturing workers as well as employees in other departments.
Hopper said the credit crisis gripping the market made it hard for dealers to purchase the company's boats wholesale. That slowdown could extend into the spring, when customers traditionally buy the boats on credit as well, he said.
"We're not so naive to believe the retail is going to be as good as normal when it gets to be springtime unless we get some changes in the finance markets and things," Hopper said Thursday.
Ranger Boats also will extend its Christmas shutdown from 10 days to nearly three weeks this year, hoping to match market demand.
"We've laid some people off and hope to get them back," Hopper said. "The economy's kind of tough right now and we're hoping to outperform the market."
Ranger Boats is owned by Minneapolis-based Genmar Holdings Inc., a group of boat companies with about 6,000 employees and more than $1 billion in annual sales.