Harley-Davidson To Add Contract Workers In April

Harley-Davidson To Add Contract Workers In April. Harley-Davidson Inc will begin adding non-unionized contract workers at facilities in Wisconsin due to new labor contracts that take effect in April. Harley expects to have 325 fewer unionized full-time employees in Wisconsin as of April than it has had under the outgoing contract. That will open up opportunities for the use of some flexible, or contract employees, not subject to a union agreement. Harley-Davidson recently offered voluntary layoffs to unionized employees in an effort to trim its Milwaukee-area hourly workforce by about 25 percent. Overall, Harley-Davidson’s global workforce declined by about 300 people in 2011 compared with 2010. The move toward a more flexible workforce follows a push among manufacturers to transition production costs to a more variable model. For decades, the terms of union contracts sometimes have made it difficult for American manufacturers of heavier machinery and household goods to adjust headcount and other costs to meet shifts in demand.