Lay-off’s at Big Dog…sign of the times.
The industry as we know it has taken some interesting twist and turns over the past two years. We’ve been hearing rumors for quite a while about possible downsizing at Big Dog and other large manufacturers. And we’ve seen numerous smaller shops around the country silently slipping into closure or major downsizing. Of course the smaller shops won’t have the media coverage, but the impact is the same on those companies and families. Big Dog motorcycles laid off 20 of its employees on Friday. The company is blaming a downturn in the economy, the housing market decline, and the financial lending crisis. 2007 was apparently a really bad year for the custom motorcycle maker, with the company laying off 10 employees. Paul Hansen, marketing director for Big Dog said: “Our goal is to resize the company to a level that can be successful, even in a down market. The good news is that once the economy rebounds, Big Dog Motorcycles is perfectly positioned to continue to be the dominant player in our market for years to come and hold our position as the world’s largest manufacturer of custom bikes. “We are a sizable company with excellent dealers, a great brand name and a strong diverse line-up of new models. We expect a respectable 2008, even with a murky economy.”
