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June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Brunswick Corp., the maker of Sea Ray yachts and Boston Whaler fishing boats, plans to close four more North American plants and may fire as much as 10 percent of its workforce to slash costs after U.S. powerboat sales fell to the lowest in more than 40 years.
Brunswick aims to reduce fixed costs by $300 million from 2007, according to a statement today. The Lake Forest, Illinois- based company had previously said it would close eight factories, reducing the number still in operation to 17 by the end of 2009, compared with 29 in 2007.
Brunswick, whose Marine unit contributed 81 percent to 2007 sales of $5.67 billion, said it may fire as many as 2,700 workers. The company had 27,050 employees at the end of last year, according to its most recent annual report.
Consumers' ``ability and desire'' to buy boats as well as Brunswick billiard tables and fitness equipment has been reduced by a shrinking U.S. job market, surging fuel prices and declining home values, Chief Executive Officer Dustan McCoy said in the statement. The cost of oil has more than doubled over the past year as the dollar dropped against the euro, driving the price of U.S. unleaded gasoline to $4.07 a gallon as of June 25, up 34 percent for the year.
``We are not assuming that these pressures will abate any time soon,'' McCoy said in the statement. ``We are planning for an environment in which the U.S. marine market will be smaller in the near term.''
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