AUGUST 17, 2023 — 202 LAYOFFS IN POPLAR BLUFF, MISSOURI
Briggs & Stratton announced it will lay off 202 employees, including 110 full- and part-time employees and 92 seasonal workers, at its Poplar Bluff plant commencing October 14, 2023, due to economic conditions and the seasonal nature of its business.
JANUARY 27, 2023 — WAUWATOSA, WISCONSIN, 160 LAYOFFS
The company has announced that it is ceasing production at its Wauwatosa plant, resulting in 160 layoffs.
Production of relocating engine-component production will be relocated to Auburn, Alabama, and air-cooled home standby generator production to Bluff, Missouri.
A company statement…
"Throughout 2023, we will transition home standby and engine component production from Wisconsin to other existing Briggs & Stratton facilities. It's important to note that Briggs & Stratton remains committed to the Milwaukee community and will maintain a strong local presence with its Corporate Headquarters and a number of other local facilities and functions.
The transition allows us to consolidate production into facilities that manufacture similar Briggs & Stratton products, which will minimize freight costs, streamline processes, allow us to build products faster and more quickly respond to customer needs.
Impacted employees were given a minimum of 60-days notice of this transition. We thank these employees for their time and dedication to the Company and are committed to providing them with support throughout the transition."
AUGUST 15, 2022 — PRODUCT LINE CHANGE IN WAUWATOSA, WISCONSIN
The company plans to proceed with its original plan to cease lawn tractor and snow-thrower production in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin commencing on September 30, 2022, with phased layoffs and wind down those operations by December 31, 2022. Approximately 106 employees will be impacted. Operations will be relocated to the company’s facilities in Sherrill, New York.
JULY 20, 2020 — BRIGGS & STRATTON SOLD TO HEDGE FUND AND FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY AS PART OF A FINANCIAL ENGINEERING MANEUVER.
Briggs & Stratton announced it has entered into a definitive stock and asset purchase agreement with private equity firm KPS Capital Partners.
Sort of a financial maneuver to profit from the sale of the company once debts are eliminated or restructured.
Under the terms of the agreement, an affiliate of KPS formed for purposes of this transaction has agreed to acquire substantially all of the Company's assets and assume certain customer, employee and vendor liabilities, and it would act as the stalking-horse bidder through a court-supervised sale process (known as a Section 363 process). Among other things, the sale agreement is subject to higher or better bids from other potential purchasers.
To facilitate the sale process and address its debt obligations, the Company has filed petitions for a court- supervised voluntary reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.'“
JULY 6, 2020 — PRODUCTION MOVE FROM WISCONSIN TO NEW YORK WITH 348 PERMANENT LAYOFFS
The company has announced that it will be moving some production jobs from its Wauwatosa, Wisconsin plant to its facilities in Munnsville, New York. The move will impact 228 permanent layoffs of B&S employees with an additional 120 employee layoffs of personnel supplied by its staffing agency Adecco.
According to a company statement, “Production will cease effective on or about August 28, 2020, and the operation wind down is anticipated to be completed on or about December 31, 2020”
The decision is said to be driven by the desire for production efficiencies and lower operational costs.
APRIL 23, 2020 — COMPANY CONTINUES A STRATEGIC REPOSITIONING WITH 80 EMPLOYEES LAID OFF. COMPANY SAYS COVID-19 NOT A FACTOR.
Continuing to implement their "Strategic Repositioning Plan" that was released in March 2020, the company laid off 80 employees.
According to a company spokesperson…
“In early March,Briggs & Stratton announced a Strategic Repositioning plan to divest most of our products business in order to fully focus our time, energy and resources on power application (residential and commercial engines and Li-Ion batteries).
We are now taking steps to align the teams and resources needed to support the reconfigured company by reducing headcount in certain areas where less support is needed. Approximately 80 U.S. salaried employees were impacted (this is less than 4% of all office workers employed by Briggs worldwide) This action is not related to COVID-19, as our Strategic Repositioning has been in progress for a number of months. It is important that we continue down the path set forth previously and take the right actions to rightsize the business and follow through on the commitments we’ve made to our investors. All impacted employees are being provided support and transition services consistent with past practices.”
Strategic Repositioning Plan … “Company to focus on power application, divesting certain assets to simplify the organization and positioning itself for growth and higher investment returns Proceeds from divestitures a source of funds to de-lever and improve financial flexibility”
Original post…
Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Briggs & Stratton, an iconic manufacturer of gasoline engines, has announced that they will be closing their small engine plant in Murray, Kentucky plant by the fall of 2020. The closure will result in the layoff of 600 employees. The decision was based on economics and the necessity of reducing their manufacturing footprint with the consolidation of small vertical shaft engine production in the company’s Poplar Bluff, Missouri plant.
“The market for small vertical-shaft engines has been relatively stable over the last several years but has not grown for various reasons, including a difficult housing market driven by the lack of affordable single-family homes in the United States. Unlike other areas of Briggs & Stratton's business such as commercial engines and products which have seen double-digit growth, the residential walk-behind mower market, where the vast majority of these engines are used, has not rebounded to historical levels. Accordingly, the Company is taking action to right-size its footprint.”
According to Todd Teske, Chairman, President & CEO of Briggs & Stratton Corporation, “"Our residential engine business continues to be core to our company as we make progress on diversifying our business by growing our commercial presence. This production consolidation is important for the long-term health of this operation and will allow for better utilization of our assets by freeing up resources that we can use on growth areas within our company. Our team in Murray has done great things over the three decades since the plant was established. We are grateful for their work and the support we have received from the local community and Commonwealth of Kentucky."
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life, or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?