Business news : Johnson Outdoor Cuts More Jobs to Restore Watercraft Business to Profitabilty

Johnson Outdoors Inc. is making additional changes to improve the profitability of its Watercraft business, which owns the Old Town, Necky and Ocean Kayak brands. The effort includes a restructuring of the unit's U.S. and European operations and streamlining at its Old Town, Maine facility.

Specifically:

• Watercraft will transition to a lower-cost local independent distributor business model in Europe by the end of July 2012. 
• Watercraft R&D and marketing will move to Old Town, Maine from Bellingham, WA over the next year, consolidating all U.S. Watercraft personnel at one location to quicken the pace of new product development and speed-to-market. 
• Streamlining at Old Town, Maine due to the capture of strategic synergies between Watercraft and Outdoor Gear, as well as position eliminations.

In total, 17 positions in the U.S. and 11 in Europe were impacted by the actions announced today.
"Last fall, we combined Watercraft and Outdoor Gear units to drive progress against a specialty channel growth platform and return Watercraft to profitability. Today's actions are necessary to best position the business for future success and increase the velocity of meaningful innovation for paddling enthusiasts," said Helen Johnson-Leipold, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We remain committed to building long-term value for our customers and our shareholders, and are confident today's actions will help us do so."

As a result of these actions, the company anticipates annual cost-savings of $2.0 million by the end of Fiscal 2014. Total costs and charges associated with the actions are estimated between $2.0 - $2.5 million to be incurred over the next twelve months.

(SportsOneSource Media)