The previous few months have seemingly been a nightmare for KTM, and one which the corporate’s higher-ups in all probability want they might get up from proper about now. From camshaft woes to financial drama, it has been a deeply unfun curler coaster experience for the mega European producer.
And now, we’ve one other loop-de-loop on this analogy, as evidently MV Agusta is about to presumably get off the experience early.
On December 9, 2024, commerce unions met with KTM representatives within the Confindustria Varese to debate present considerations. At this assembly, the regional department of the CV, CISL dei Laghi, reports that KTM reps said that MV Agusta is “not thought of a strategic asset.”
What does this imply? Apparently, it signifies that talks are already underway to return all of MV Agusta’s manufacturing again to MV Agusta headquarters in Varese. Below the present settlement, this course of ought to take round 90 days to finish. The present timeline sees remaining implementation round March 31, 2025.
In the course of the first months of 2025, KTM plans to promote down the inventory of MV Agustas which are presently sitting in Austria, however will not produce any extra there. As soon as that is achieved, MV Agusta should depend on the bikes it might produce and promote from the manufacturing unit in Varese, however not create further inventory within the warehouse in Austria.
CISL goes on to say that the 13-month wage settlement for MV Agusta employees will not be affected and isn’t up for negotiation, and provides that if monetary issues come up, “any cuts would begin with administration.” Which might be good, as a result of administration seemingly aren’t those constructing the bikes.
At the moment, round 2,000 MV Agusta bikes sit unsold, ready for brand new house owners. MV Agusta plans to start its 2025 manufacturing run round mid-March, with plans to make round 3,000 bikes. Heavy emphasis is being positioned on coaching and studying from previous errors to maneuver ahead with accelerating the three-year MV Agusta growth plan coordinated with KTM.
There’s additionally a tiny little line tucked in close to the top of this announcement from CISL dei Laghi, saying that MV plans to handle redundancies in its workforce on a voluntary foundation, but additionally including that as a result of present monetary scenario, there will likely be no cash to sweeten the exit of anybody who leaves.
It isn’t clear what number of redundancies are anticipated, and I might think about I am not the one one questioning how a lot additional the workforce will be lower after KTM already applied the knife soon after acquiring its controlling interest in MV within the first place.
Now, what follows is solely armchair considering, so please acknowledge it as such. However to illustrate you have received two factories, and also you determine extra bikes are going to be made in a single manufacturing unit than the opposite. And to illustrate they’re in two utterly totally different places, so it is not such as you’re shuttling employees from one to the opposite, like a roving band of skilled wrenches who go the place they’re wanted.
And to illustrate that plans change. So, for no matter purpose you want, you find yourself shifting manufacturing away from Manufacturing facility A and again to Manufacturing facility B. Now extra bikes are being made at Manufacturing facility B than you initially had deliberate.
Assuming that you simply’d saved staffing at an acceptable stage at each Manufacturing facility A and Manufacturing facility B all through these processes, would not that change suggest that you simply’d want extra employees at Manufacturing facility B, not fewer? Extra extremely technical manufacturing in a facility ought to equal extra expert fingers on deck, proper?
It is in no way clear what occurs right here, however this is hoping this offers MV Agusta the liberty it must hold preventing by itself phrases. I imply, we’re speaking about an organization that survived a fraught two-year acquisition by Harley within the early 2000s. This cannot be the way it goes out, can it?
We reached out to our contact at MV Agusta for additional clarification and we’ll replace this publish as soon as we hear again.
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