Harley-Davidson has taken another step forward with its “Rewire” plan, as CEO Jochen Zeitz is set to cut 700 jobs from the company worldwide, with 500 employees expected to be cut by the end of the year.
As a result of this news, the company’s current CFO, John Olin, is stepping down from his role effective immediately, thus ending his 17-year tenure at the Bar & Shield brand.
Replacing Olin as the interim-CFO at Harley-Davidson is Treasurer Darrell Thomas, who will hold the spot while the motorcycle manufacturer looks for a more permanent replacement.
“Significant changes are necessary, and we must move in new directions. I thank John for his commitment during his 17 years with the company and for his leadership during this critical phase of The Rewire,” said Zeitz.
It’s not clear what positions Harley-Davidson will clear out with this move, though the American motorcycle brand said that 200 of the 700 jobs are already vacant.
For those doing the math, this news comes just months after Harley-Davidson announced that it would cut 140 jobs from its factories in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Replacing Matt Levatich as CEO of Harley-Davidson this year, Zeitz’s new plan for Harley-Davidson has yet to be clearly articulated to the public (supposedly we will know more when Harley-Davidson releases its Q2 report), though we are slowly seeing efforts from the Bar & Shield brand to correct its downward trajectory.
Harley-Davidson’s problems are not new, and have been trending in this direction for over a decade now, though the coronavirus outbreak has not been kind to the American motorcycle manufacturer, as the industry as a whole suffers from dwindling sales.
Source: Harely-Davidson
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