KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Boat manufacturer Sea Ray plans to cut 80 more positions at its three East Tennessee plants in an effort to reduce its supply of boats.
The company, which announced 90 regional cuts in August, reiterated in a released statement Thursday that it is trimming production in reaction to a continued soft marine retail market.
There will also be 55 reductions at the company's Florida facilities in Palm Coast and on Merritt Island, and 40 cuts from the Baja Boats facility in Bucyrus, Ohio.
Sea Ray employs about 1,900 people in Knoxville, where the company's headquarters are based.
It operates as part of the Boat Group unit of Brunswick Corp. headquartered in Lake Forest, Ill. Sea Ray has more than 40 models ranging from 17 to 68 feet.
In July, Brunswick Chairman and CEO Dusty McCoy said that boat sales were their softest since 1965. His assessment came not long after the company announced plans to lower boat production in the second half of 2007.
Company spokesman Dan Kubera had said at the time the company did not have any plans for layoffs or shift reductions in Tennessee.
