Layoff Possible at Burger Boat

If you lay off 30% of your workforce, which 30% of a yacht does not get built? Seriously, do they have to note who will be terminated, i.e admin, technical, assembly, etc or across the board?

They may get furious, but their money's already on the table. You can't cut marketing, they bring in the new money. You can't cut AR, they make sure it comes in. Can't cut upper managment. Not sure what they do in business today, but they don't get cut. That leaves the guys and girls working on the boats. It just means deliveries get pushed back.

Direct labor does not "cost" money. Direct labor "makes" money. Labor is an investment, on which the company receives a return.
Lower sales means less investment is needed to fill those orders. The result is a lower investment in payroll, whether it be reduced hours or reduced headcount or both.
Payrolls must be in balance with sales. Sounds obvious but are three big companies in Detroit who didn't understand the concept for decades.

The big three didn't get into trouble because of payroll costs. That's just an easily controlled symptom. They got into trouble because of unfair trade and tariff agreements, not keeping up with trends, offering an inferior product and most of all chicanery on the part of Wall St. & the banks. Do we want to provide a McMansion for a few or a home for many? If Burger cuts labor costs they will produce an inferior product and increase production time. If they do that they will lose sales and the company's future. Of course, if they cut labor costs they can save money in the short term in hopes of selling the company to a bank controlled multi-national. So their choice is are they a business that happens to build boats or a boat builder and employer? Do they want to compete with a superior product or a lower price? We all know what the answer will be. The same answer that has led us to the current worldwide economic situation. 'It's not personal. It's just business.'

I don't want to get way off topic here but there is so much to respond to in your post that I don't even know where to begin.
The big three didn't get into trouble because of payroll costs.
Really? Decades of agreeing to union contracts that included among other things, guaranteed employment at times when there was not enough demand to build the cars?
Do we want to provide a McMansion for a few or a home for many?
That sounds like something right out of the Communist Manifesto Employees are one of the tools that a business uses to make a profit. They invest in employees just as they invest in factory space, machinery, computer systems, and anything else. It is for no other reason than to make a profit.
If Burger cuts labor costs they will produce an inferior product and increase production time.
What if they are going to build half as many boats next year? Should they keep the same workforce as this year?
So their choice is are they a business that happens to build boats or a boat builder and employer.
A viable business plan requires a return on the investment of becoming an employer. It does not matter if a company is building floating works of art, or building refrigerators. If they don't manage their investment properly, they won't be around to do either.

Businesses used to keep their employees during slow times because they wanted to keep the experienced/ loyal/ quality workers. That was before workers were considered "bodies" or as you call them "tools". Also, because they felt a moral obligation to support those who supported them. They also wanted to avoid workers revolting which is what happens when they are considered just tools to be used up, discarded and replaced. Think about that communist revolution, the French revolution, the Union strikes of the 20's, 30's & 40's. You may call it "something right out of the Communist Manifesto". I call it "Those who refuse to learn from history are destined to repeat it". When a company isn't making money it seems obvious that the people at the top aren't doing their job. They are the ones responsible for marketing, sales, investing, lobbying, etc. You can take a guy making 500K and cut his salary by 300K or you can get rid of 10 guys working the line for for 30K each. They're not the ones who failed to do their jobs, but they will be the ones axed. Seems short sighted though. Burger was known for building a quality product. Then the world said 'Give me cheap prices and a plastic world. I don't mind sacraficing quality' and they (and most American companies suffered). Maybe cheap products and humans being considered livestock is right, maybe it isn't. I can only make that decision for myself and those I employ. Burger will make theirs, but no choice will be without consequence. Like I said before, 'It's just business'; at least until it knocks on you own front door.

You're forgetting that the people at the top cannot control the economy, and the product Burger sells is a luxury item. And, in times like this less people buy luxury items. Typically employers start laying off the employees that aren't as good or productive as the other ones........

It doesn't help to keep all of your employees if it makes you go bankrupt and nobody has a job.......

That's why they get the big bucks. It's their job to get boat's built and sold. If they can't do that then they're not worth what they're being paid. You don't hear a line worker making excuses. They meet their quota or they're gone. Somewhere up the chain that policy changes.

Burger Boat layoffs

Oh, well, now the blame can be laid at the foot of Obama, him and his experts have done a lousy job of selling the US products to the rest of the world, hence, continuing unemployment at historical high levels, Oh, I know, lay off the population !!!!

Actually, I believe boat sales are up from their low point left over from the previous administration. But the buck does stop at the President's desk. Be that the president of the U.S. or the president of the company.

It is not helping that the economy in our state (Wisconsin) has not hit rock bottom yet and is still on the way down. Unemployment is still over 10% statewide, and close to 16% or more here in Green Bay.

The economic policies of this administration are not doing any good.

What? We ran out of money? Just print more. We will go with another stimulus package. Yeah, that will do the trick. And taxes are going up even more.

The government has to quit this insane spending spree.

The spending spree has been going on for 9 years. Why stop now? Heck, we had one candidate who promised it would go on for another 100 years and a VP who boasted that he'd set it up so that it can't be stopped. Besides, Wisconsin is way better off than more than a few places around the world. On the up side I don't think anybody could do more harm to anything than was done in the previous 8 years. Since we're so far off topic let me pass on condolences to the Steinbrenner family. I didn't like what the boss did to baseball, but he was quite a character. Now about Burger Yachts.

That should be standard proceedure in good times or bad unless for charitable reasons.

And who is it that's not generating new orders...regardless of excuses. That's the worker who's not needed; the one that's not producing what he's paid handsomely to produce. Not coincidentally, he's also the one with the largest cushion to fall back on if he loses his job and his salary would probably pay for several workers who do produce every day.

Your statement defies logic It suggests that a company, when facing a downturn, should eliminate the employees that would bring in more business, and keep the employees who would provide labor for which there is no need.

"would", "can", what I don't hear is "are". Not to say that labor is or should be untouchable, nobody should be, but if someone is not producing you get rid of them or lower their salary until they do produce before you ruin the lives of several families. Good labor is also very hard to find and expensive to hire and train. Would you want a yacht built by new employees who yesterday were mowing lawns. Cuts should be across the board. You may have noticed that GM's president cut his salary to $1.00 (Yes I know the reality, but he made a point).