Business / Harley-Davidson stops sales and manufacturing in India, lays off 70

Harley-Davidson on Thursday announced that it is discontinuing its sales and manufacturing operations in India, which will lead to 70 employees being laid off. The US motorcycle maker, which began operations in India in 2009, has an assembly facility in Haryana's Bawal. Harley-Davidson sold just 2,470 units in 2019-20 compared to 3,413 units in 2018-19.

Reuters : Sep 24, 2020, 05:32 PM
Gurugram: U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson said on Thursday it expects to report $75 million in additional restructuring costs for 2020 related to actions including discontinuing its sales and manufacturing operations in India.

The announcement comes two months after Harley unveiled a strategy to shift focus back to more profitable motorcycles and core markets such as the United States.

Harley said earlier in the year that it planned to reduce its product portfolio and exit lower volume markets, without specifying which ones.

The company said it now expects total restructuring costs of about $169 million in 2020, and this will also include a workforce reduction of about 70 employees in India, a market where its annual sales volumes account for less than 5% of the company's total.