SCHWEINFURT, Germany (BRAIN)—SRAM will layoff another 27 people at its Schweinfurt, Germany, factory by the end of this month as it completes the second phase of its production shift to Taiwan.
That’s according to a timeline published in the company’s most recent prospectus filed with the Security Exchange Commission as it prepares to go public. In the June 24 filing, SRAM said it had completed the first phase of the restructuring on Dec. 31 2010, which included releasing 74 employees through a combination of early retirement, voluntary resignations or the acceptance of a severance packaging including severance pay, retraining and job search assistance.
SRAM expects to layoff another 27 employees at the end of this month, followed by 29 more by July 31, 2012. All employees will be offered severance pay, retraining and job search assistance.
The restructuring plan was paid for by SRAM with additional benefits provided by the German government. SRAM expected its total costs associated with the restructuring to be $10.9 million with $8 million of that spent last year, the filing said.
The company announced in March 2010 that it would change the focus of its Schweinfurt facility from manufacturing to a product development and customer training and service center. At the time, the company said it would reduce its overall workforce of 250 to about 100.
SRAM acquired the Schweinfurt facility when it purchased Sachs in 1997 and had been using the factory to manufacture its i-Motion internal gear hubs.
The company underwent the restructuring in order to take advantage of lower manufacturing costs in Taiwan and to reduce excess capacity at the German facility as a result of the shift of bike production by bike brands from Europe to Asia.
—Nicole Formosa
nformosa@bicycleretailer.com
