Harley Davidson Threatens To Move Kansas City Operations to York County

OFF THE WIRE
YORK COUNTY — Harley Davidson may be bringing more business to York County. The company is threatening to move its Kansas City operations to the plant in Springettsbury Township.

Last year, the motorcycle maker warned local workers of a possible consolidation to Kentucky. The move didn't happen, but jobs were cut. Tom Donley, President of the York County Chamber of Commerce, says he is happy to be on the other side of the situation this time around.

"Our plant has gone through the painful process of becoming more efficient and there are a lot of great things happening there right now," said Donley.

Statement from Harley Davidson:

Harley-Davidson remains focused on identifying and addressing competitive gaps wherever they exist in our production operations. We have advised our Kansas City production employees that recent internal studies show significant cost, efficiency and production flexibility gaps in the Kansas City operations. We indicated that if we cannot find ways to address these gaps, the alternative would be for the Company to consolidate the Kansas City operations into the vehicle final assembly operations at our York, PA facility. We will continue to discuss ways to address the competitive gaps with the unions. The Company expects to make a final decision regarding the Kansas City operations in the first quarter of 2011.

Michael DiMauro, Communications Manager, Harley-Davidson, York Vehicle Operations