Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company is laying off part of its global workforce.
“We can confirm that some employees have been notified today of a reduction in force that is impacting our global workforce,” a company spokesperson said on March 23.
The company did not elaborate on how many employees were impacted.
“There’s broad alignment around the changes required to drive sustainable growth going forward. These include healthier inventory levels, improved product mix, simpler and more effective rider engagement programs and greater flexibility to reflect local market conditions,” CEO Artie Starrs said on a quarterly call in February.
“We are conducting a rigorous end-to-end review of our cost base and operating expenses ordered by third party specialists. Our current corporate overhead, manufacturing capacity and overall operating expenses are built for materially higher volumes than today’s demand. And we will be addressing this mismatch head on.”
Harley-Davidson reported in February that in 2025 profit of total of $339 million, a 26% decrease from 2024.
“We are in the early stages of a reset,” Starrs said on the call with analysts and investors.
Starrs talked about the importance of Harley-Davidson being a good place to work by saying “strong corporate culture isn’t just good for employee morale, it’s good for business.”
“Rebuilding our culture and identity as a Milwaukee icon truly matters,” Starr said. “My direct reports are all working from Milwaukee at our Juneau Avenue headquarters and we will be formally reopening the office later this quarter.”
Last December, Harley-Davidson employees were ordered back to the office in hopes to obtain tax credits to help finance renovations at the corporate campus.
“By going back to the bricks of our Juneau Avenue headquarters we are not only reigniting the cultural beat that has defined this company for over 120 years but with these changes we are improving decision making speed, cross functional collaborations and, critically, accountability,” Starr said.
“I’m particularly pleased with how much more agile, nimble and speedy our leadership team is becoming working shoulder to shoulder in Milwaukee.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Harley-Davidson cuts jobs as profits fall 26%. Wisconsin impact unknown
Reporting by Ricardo Torres, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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