Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) announced today that its Defense segment
plans to reduce its workforce in Oshkosh by approximately 250 to 300
hourly positions in December 2014. In addition, approximately 70
salaried positions will be eliminated with the majority being temporary
employees, elimination of open positions and those retiring.
“We continue to reshape our workforce as a result of significantly lower
U.S. defense spending and dramatic reductions in military vehicle
production,” said John Urias, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice
president and president of Oshkosh Defense. “We have gone to great
lengths to minimize and delay the impact of these changes on our Defense
workforce. At the same time we are aggressively competing for future
contracts including JLTV, MSVS and other international opportunities,
which will serve as a catalyst for growth of the Defense business.”
Oshkosh plans to reach out to the county and state workforce development
agencies and local employers to help those affected in the layoff make
the transition to other employment if they so desire. Provided Oshkosh
receives interest from local and state-wide employers, the Company plans
to hold a job fair to provide a venue for affected employees to meet
prospective future employers.
“Amid the defense spending downturn, we remain committed to our role in
supporting our customers’ military ground operations around the world,”
said Urias. “We will retain a strong, experienced workforce to serve all
existing and new contracts as they are awarded, including JLTV. Our team
stands ready to deliver the best value JLTV solution with production on
an active, proven manufacturing line that is already building military
vehicles for our Armed Forces today.”
With the reduction, Oshkosh will retain more than 1,800 Defense
employees in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and key regional facilities around the
world.
About Oshkosh Defense
Oshkosh Defense is a leading provider of tactical wheeled vehicles and
life cycle sustainment services. For more than 90 years, Oshkosh has
been mobilizing military and security forces around the globe by
offering a full portfolio of heavy, medium, light and highly protected
military vehicles to support our customers’ missions. In addition,
Oshkosh offers advanced technologies and vehicle components such as TAK-4®
independent suspension systems, TerraMax™ unmanned ground
vehicle solutions, Command Zone™ integrated control and
diagnostics system, and ProPulse® diesel electric and
on-board vehicle power solutions, to provide our customers with a
technical edge as they fulfill their missions. Every Oshkosh vehicle is
backed by a team of defense industry experts and complete range of
sustainment and training services to optimize fleet readiness and
performance. Oshkosh Defense, LLC is an Oshkosh Corporation company
(NYSE:OSK).
To learn more about Oshkosh Defense, please visit us at www.oshkoshdefense.com.
About Oshkosh Corporation
Oshkosh Corporation is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of
a broad range of specialty access equipment, commercial, fire &
emergency and military vehicles and vehicle bodies. Oshkosh Corporation
manufactures, distributes and services products under the brands of
Oshkosh®, JLG®, Pierce®, McNeilus®, Jerr-Dan®, Frontline™, CON-E-CO®,
London® and IMT®. Oshkosh products are valued worldwide in businesses
where high quality, superior performance, rugged reliability and
long-term value are paramount.
®, TM All brand names referred to in this news release are trademarks of
Oshkosh Corporation or its subsidiary companies.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that the Company believes to be
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than
statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements
regarding the Company’s future financial position, business strategy,
targets, projected sales, costs, earnings, capital expenditures, debt
levels and cash flows, and plans and objectives of management for future
operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press
release, words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,”
“anticipate,” “believe,” “should,” “project” or “plan” or the negative
thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology are generally
intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to
risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are
beyond the Company’s control, which could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. These factors include the cyclical nature of the Company’s
access equipment, commercial and fire & emergency markets, which are
particularly impacted by the pace of U.S. and European economic
recoveries; the strength of emerging market growth and projected
adoption rate of work at height machinery; the expected level and timing
of DoD and international defense customer procurement of products and
services and funding thereof; risks related to reductions in government
expenditures in light of U.S. defense budget pressures, sequestration
and an uncertain DoD tactical wheeled vehicle strategy, including the
Company’s ability to successfully manage the cost reductions required as
a result of lower customer orders in the defense segment; the Company’s
ability to win a U.S. Joint Light Tactical Vehicle production contract
award; the Company’s ability to increase prices to raise margins or
offset higher input costs; increasing commodity and other raw material
costs, particularly in a sustained economic recovery; risks related to
facilities consolidation and alignment, including the amounts of related
costs and charges and that anticipated cost savings may not be achieved;
the duration of the ongoing global economic uncertainty, which could
lead to additional impairment charges related to many of the Company’s
intangible assets and/or a slower recovery in the Company’s cyclical
businesses than Company or equity market expectations; risks related to
the collectability of receivables, particularly for those businesses
with exposure to construction markets; the cost of any warranty
campaigns related to the Company’s products; risks related to production
or shipment delays arising from quality or production issues; risks
associated with international operations and sales, including foreign
currency fluctuations and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act; the Company’s ability to comply with complex laws and regulations
applicable to U.S. government contractors; the impact of severe weather
or natural disasters that may affect the Company, its suppliers or its
customers; the impact of cyber security risk and costs of defending
against, mitigating and responding to a data security breach; and risks
related to the Company’s ability to successfully execute on its
strategic road map and meet its long-term financial goals. Additional
information concerning these and other factors is contained in the
Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press
release. The Company assumes no obligation, and disclaims any
obligation, to update information contained in this press release.
Investors should be aware that the Company may not update such
information until the Company’s next quarterly earnings conference call,
if at all.
Copyright Business Wire 2014