During its third quarter 2023 earnings call on Oct. 20, Husqvarna CFO Terry Burke stated a new cost savings program the company is implementing would impact "approximately 300 positions."
Regarding this latest cost-savings initiative, Burke said the following during the third quarter earnings call:
We have seen a weaker demand during Q3, and now we will launch an additional cost savings program, and this is really to position the Group for longer-term value creation. So this — just to be clear, this is an additional cost saving program in addition to the one we talked about previously. We talk about some SEK400 million ($36.1 million) additional cost savings, and this will unfortunately impact approximately 300 positions.
Husqvarna previously laid off 200 employees at its Orangeburg, S.C., facility in July. The company also announced during its second quarter earnings call in July that it will be discontinuing handheld production at its Nashville, Ark., factory, which will move "to other facilities within the Group, primarily Sao Carlos in Brazil." A July 18 report from The Hope Prescott stated production in Nashville would stop by the end of 2024 and would affect around 700 employees.
This will bring the total number of positions affected this year to around 1,200. Husqvarna reported in its third quarter earnings that it has 13,959 employees as of Sept. 30, down from 14,561 at the same point last year.
When asked about the layoffs in Nashville, Husqvarna provided Rural Lifestyle Dealer with the following statement;
In July, the decision to consolidate manufacturing operations in Nashville, Ark., into the facilities in Brazil, China and Orangeburg was announced. This consolidation is part of a strategy acceleration with a focus on robotics, electrification, watering and professional solutions. We did not take this decision lightly and as such are providing transition options for employees whose jobs were impacted and offering job placement support services.
