So, I met a guy that had worked at Harley in York, PA for the past ~30 years (trusted source). Ever since the nose dive the economy took in '08-'09, Harley has changed production tactics...and not for the better.
In order to save money, at least 50% of the Harley employees have been laid off in favor of what they call "casuals". These people are hired for ~$10-12/hr., come to work, screw up 50-75% of what they do and collect a paycheck. The regular Harley employees are then called in on their days off to fix these mistakes (Saturdays-time and a half pay and Sundays-double time pay). How is this saving money? Another tactic they have implemented is what they call a "surge". This is when they bring in a bunch of unqualified folks for ~$10-12/hr. to work like crazy to pump out a massive amount of bikes in a short period of time (a majority come from the local York Co. Prison work release program). Again, the screw ups are plentiful and the normal plant workers need to come in and fix them on OVERTIME. Keep in mind, these plant workers are making ~$28-35/hr. straight time! Just this week, over 100 plant workers have been permanently laid off, while only 12 or so, casuals were shown the door. To put the icing on the cake, Harley has thousands of bike sitting in warehouses that dealers do not even want because they can't sell them. The bikes just aren't selling. So, my question is, why keep bringing in these degenerates to screw up bikes by the hundreds when Harley isn't moving a lot of product anyways? $$$ They're not saving any money by having to continually shut down the lines and have the plant workers fix screw ups made by the "low-wage fill-ins".
You've been warned. :stac:
In order to save money, at least 50% of the Harley employees have been laid off in favor of what they call "casuals". These people are hired for ~$10-12/hr., come to work, screw up 50-75% of what they do and collect a paycheck. The regular Harley employees are then called in on their days off to fix these mistakes (Saturdays-time and a half pay and Sundays-double time pay). How is this saving money? Another tactic they have implemented is what they call a "surge". This is when they bring in a bunch of unqualified folks for ~$10-12/hr. to work like crazy to pump out a massive amount of bikes in a short period of time (a majority come from the local York Co. Prison work release program). Again, the screw ups are plentiful and the normal plant workers need to come in and fix them on OVERTIME. Keep in mind, these plant workers are making ~$28-35/hr. straight time! Just this week, over 100 plant workers have been permanently laid off, while only 12 or so, casuals were shown the door. To put the icing on the cake, Harley has thousands of bike sitting in warehouses that dealers do not even want because they can't sell them. The bikes just aren't selling. So, my question is, why keep bringing in these degenerates to screw up bikes by the hundreds when Harley isn't moving a lot of product anyways? $$$ They're not saving any money by having to continually shut down the lines and have the plant workers fix screw ups made by the "low-wage fill-ins".
You've been warned. :stac: