Briggs & Stratton Corp. says it will add about 220 full-time jobs at its Wauwatosa, Wis., plant, plus about 150 seasonal positions, from shutting down a factory in McDonough, Ga.
The company says it is moving the production of riding lawn tractors, pressure washers and snow throwers from McDonough to Wauwatosa in early 2015.
The McDonough plant employs about 475 people, and Briggs said it will provide outplacement services to those employees as the result of the plant closing.
Briggs said production of its zero-turn mowers will be moved from McDonough to a Briggs plant in Munnsville, N.Y., but that it would not result in additional jobs at that Munnsville plant.
The company also said that, beginning in the spring of 2016, it will narrow its offering of lower-priced Snapper consumer lawn-and-garden equipment products to focus more on premium-price products in the Snapper and Simplicity brands.
"While we have seen improved sales of our lawn-and-garden equipment during our fiscal 2014, in an effort to improve the operating performance of our products business, we believe it is necessary to simplify our Snapper product line, reduce our offerings of certain low volume and lower-priced Snapper lawn-and-garden products, and reduce the related manufacturing capacity and expenses," Todd J. Teske, chairman, president and chief executive, said in a statement.
Briggs' fiscal year ended June 29. The company says it expects to report fourth quarter net sales of $495 million, up 4% from a year earlier.