WAUKESHA, Wis. — People who love the iconic Harley-Davidson brand are wondering what the future holds for the motorcycle maker in Wisconsin after Harley-Davidson announced that some of its production would move from Menomonee Falls to Thailand.The news has prompted dozens of people to write in to TMJ4 and post on our Facebook page, with many saying they might never buy a Harley again.
"I have been riding motorcycles since I was a kid," said Chuck Schmidt, who was out riding his Harley in downtown Waukesha.
Chuck considers himself to be part of the Harley-Davidson family, from working on the bikes as a teenager to owning them as an adult.
"We have supported Harley-Davidson for a lot of years," Chuck said.
He heard about Harley-Davidson's announcement to move some of its production from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania to Thailand. Even though the motorcycle maker says it is a "temporary transition," Chuck says that if the move becomes permanent, then he is done.
Watch previous coverage: Workers 'pretty nervous' after Harley-Davidson moves work from Wisconsin to Thailand:
“Would you not buy any more?” asked reporter Rebecca Klopf.
“Absolutely,” Chuck answered.
Downtown Waukesha bar owner Robert Gonzalez says he has heard similar statements all weekend.
"I mean, it is almost a huge consensus that if the new owner follows through with what they say they are going to do, then they are selling their bikes," said Gonzalez, owner of Michael's Funky Monkey.
The move has also been a hot topic online, both in emails to TMJ4 and in comments on our Facebook page. The comments have ranged from "Very sad," "Worried," to "Totally disgusted," while others have said, "Not surprised," and "It won't prevent me from buying a Harley."
Chuck says even if it is a business move, he knows the people working those jobs and will stand with them over the motorcycle he loves.
"It is still taking away from the people and the families here who work at the facility," Chuck said.
Harley-Davidson maintains that this move is temporary for model year 2025.
Watch: Harley-Davidson owners say they're outraged over some production moving to Thailand:
Statement from a Harley-Davidson spokesperson:
“Harley-Davidson is proud to design and develop all its iconic motorcycles in the USA. As a global company, Harley-Davidson also maintains an international manufacturing footprint, like many of its peers. As part of our overall manufacturing optimization strategy, Harley-Davidson is to temporarily transition the production of its non-core Revolution Max powertrain equipped models (Pan America, Sportster S, Nightster), to its existing manufacturing facility in Thailand, for model year 25. This move optimizes production capacity for Grand American Touring and other core product segments such as Softail and Trike motorcycles at its York, PA facility. Additionally, building on the DOE Grant, as part of this move, we are investing an additional $9m into our US manufacturing facilities to focus and strengthen our US manufacturing capabilities and capacity for our core products.”
“This does not have an impact on employment at U.S. facilities.”
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