Posted: Dec. 9, 2008

BRP Inc. is eliminating 98 of the 500 positions at its Evinrude engine plant in Sturtevant as part of a global retrenchment to cope with the recession.

The Canadian recreational products company, which also makes Ski-Doo snowmobiles and Sea-Doo watercraft, is cutting production by 20% worldwide and dismissing hundreds of workers.

Pierre Pichette, a spokesman for BRP, said 78 hourly and 20 white-collar workers in Sturtevant would lose their jobs as the outboard division merges with the BRP-Rotax subsidiary in Austria, which makes engines for snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. The restructuring also includes combining sales and marketing forces for Ski-Doo, Sea-Doo and Evinrude.

BRP's announcement is the latest in a string of downsizings that have consumed more than 27,000 jobs in Wisconsin in the 12 months since October 2007. Metropolitan Racine has lost 1,600 jobs since October 2007, the widest year-to-year gap in 22 consecutive months of decline.

Altogether, BRP plans to get rid of 550 white-collar positions, 80% of them this month. The company also is in the process of laying off 430 production workers, including the 78 in Sturtevant, as part of a seasonal reduction. BRP made permanent cuts of 370 blue-collar jobs in the three months ended Oct. 31.

"These are very difficult decisions to make, but we must take appropriate preventive measures considering the seriousness of the situation," José Boisjoli, BRP's president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. "We believe these measures will reduce our costs and make BRP less vulnerable to drastic declines in revenues caused by events outside our control, such as the current crisis."

Pichette said the power sports market has suffered from a triple whammy of volatile financial markets, limited credit availability and plummeting consumer confidence. He said BRP's move should fortify Sturtevant's position for when the economy recovers.

"One thing is for sure is that we are in the marine business to stay," Pichette said. "It is a turbulent period, and we are reorganizing ourselves to go through it in the best way possible so we are able to get out of it stronger."

Evinrude's E-TEC technology, aimed at reducing exhaust emissions, is starting to be used in Rotax engines, Pichette said, suggesting the value of merging the two divisions. Evinrude will keep its plants in Sturtevant and China, and Rotax will keep its operations in Austria and Mexico.

"Sometimes in tough times, there is an opportunity that we want to seize, and what we're doing there is to create a closer synergy between these two, because it's giving very good results," Pichette said. "We're hopeful that the move that we're doing today, even though it's costing some jobs short term, is going to give us the possibility to come out of there stronger."

BRP will continue to run research-and-development facilities in Waukegan, Ill., Pichette said. BRP's former parent acquired the Waukegan site when it took over the bankrupt Outboard Marine Corp., through which it acquired the Evinrude and Johnson outboard motor lines.

BRP is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Evinrude.

The company has been the steadiest employer to occupy a plant built 10 years ago as part of a plan to save Golden Books, the former Racine-based publisher and printer of classic children's books. After Golden Books failed, a Montreal-based commercial printer, Artech Printing, ran it briefly. BRP's former parent, Bombardier, took over in 2001.