By Melanie Speicher
[email protected]
JACKSON CENTER — The 2024 year began on a somber note for Airstream as the company laid off 150 employees on Jan. 12.
“We can confirm that 150 Airstream associates were laid off on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024.” said Bob Wheeler, Airstream president and CEO. “This was an incredibly difficult decision – one that has ripple effects well beyond the walls of our manufacturing facilities. For the last several years, we’ve been able to add many jobs – we love that, and we hate it in times like these when we need to reduce the workforce. It’s not something we take lightly, and we pulled every lever we had over the preceding months trying to avoid a layoff like this.”
Wheeler doesn’t know how long the layoffs will last.
“These are people’s jobs – their livelihoods – and we understand the difficult challenges this creates for the families who are impacted. Unfortunately, at this point, we don’t know how long this layoff will last,” said Wheeler. “We’re actively monitoring the economic climate and the current state of the Recreational Vehicle industry when it comes to production rates and retail orders. We’re hopeful that this round of layoffs will help us manage our production schedule and get us to the right size for current market demand. And when the market improves, we hope to hire back as many folks as possible.”
Wheeler explained why the layoffs were necessary.
“After several years of overwhelming demand driven by pandemic-induced lifestyle changes, the RV industry has been returning to the levels we saw pre-pandemic. That trend means more inventory at our dealerships, which in turn requires reduced production rates,” said Wheeler. “To maintain our production schedule at 40 hours per week, we’ve made the difficult decision to undertake this layoff as we recalibrate and adjust to the new normal. Economic uncertainty like this presents difficult challenges and requires difficult decisions as we work to maintain the health of the business. We’ve worked hard over the years to limit the need for layoffs and we haven’t had one of this size for some time. While we’ve had to make those difficult decisions as the business climate shifts, we’re proud of our record managing these situations to the best of our ability. And we’re confident that – as we saw after the last economic downturn – that we can manage this situation and get back to a place where we’re adding jobs and increasing our workforce.
“Traditionally, the RV industry is cyclical and driven by seasonal demand. As we move from a period of unprecedented demand back into a normal business environment, we expect to return to the kind of seasonal cycle we were used to seeing before the pandemic,” continued Wheeler. “Couple that with the economic sunshine on the horizon – with steady and dropping inflation numbers, along with interest rates inching back down – and we’re optimistic. Our hope is that all of this will translate into steady production rates in the near future – if not an increase – and the opportunity to bring back as many of these folks who want to return.”
Airstream, said Wheeler, saw growth during the pandemic.
“While we don’t share our production or sales data, Airstream is part of an industry that saw unprecedented growth during the pandemic years. We’re confident that this current market slowdown is a return to the normalcy we experienced before the pandemic,” said Wheeler.
“The RV industry is not immune to the rising cost of materials and the effects of inflation on the economy. But we’ve also worked hard over the last several years to manage how those costs affect the price of our products. We’re managing supply chain challenges, and these layoffs are less about rising costs and more about recalibrating for changing market demands. And when those demands rise again, we know we’ve got the very best workforce here in Shelby County and beyond to draw on,” he said.
