SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Hundreds of Indiana workers have been laid off this year at recreational vehicle plants, and company officials aren't sure when or if the jobs could return.
Rising fuel prices and declining consumer confidence is hurting the market for RVs, said Craig Wanichek, a spokesman for Monaco Coach.
''We are adjusting to market conditions,'' Wanichek said.
Monaco Coach, based in Coburg, Ore., furloughed about 300 employees at its Elkhart, Wakarusa and Warsaw plants last week and had previously laid off 200 workers, mostly from the Wakarusa site.
The workers could be called back, Wanichek said, although he acknowledged that the chances of that happening soon seem slim.
''There is a chance in the long-term that they will be hired back,'' he said. ''But as we look at the next couple of quarters, it looks to still remain very challenging.''
The Recreational Vehicle Industry Association estimates shipments of RVs will drop nearly 14 percent this year because of diminished household wealth and declining consumer confidence.
