Harley-Davidson is moving more motorcycle production to its existing Thailand manufacturing facility, despite the company’s vow a number of years ago that it would never manufacture bikes overseas for the American marketplace, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Harley has recently struggled to grow its business and control costs.
The company’s Wisconsin and Pennsylvania union workforce, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, has voiced concerns over the move, saying the additional production in Thailand will hurt Harley’s U.S. suppliers and most likely result in job losses at the company’s plants. Harley said that employment at U.S. facilities will not be impacted by the decision.
The company also said that, as part of this move, building on an $89 million Department of Energy grant, it will invest an additional $9 million into its U.S. manufacturing facilities to enhance their capabilities and core product capacities. The production of Harley’s more expensive touring bikes, trikes, and Softail models will reportedly stay in the U.S., while production of its non-core Revolution Max powertrain equipped models will temporarily transition to Thailand.
