Briggs & Stratton confirmed it has laid off 38 hourly full-time staff at its plant in Auburn, Alabama, because the small engine and powered outdoor equipment maker is "entering a slower demand period."
In a statement released to the Milwaukee Business Journal, the private equity-owned Wauwatosa-based manufacturer said: "Due to the seasonal nature of our business, our production cycle includes high and low-demand periods."
The company said it hopes to bring back many of the employees as fall approaches, according to the statement released by Rebecca Shaffer, director, corporate communications and public relations, for Briggs & Stratton.
Milwaukee Business Journal states that employees at the plant in Alabama are not represented by a labor union.
The layoffs come after Briggs acknowledged in March 2024 that it was making “some difficult but necessary workforce reductions" to "ensure that its strategic goals and organizational structure align with customer demand and long-term profitable growth." At the time, the company provided no details on the number of jobs impacted or the locations of the workforce reductions.
Briggs & Stratton manufactures small engines, batteries and lawn care products and has local operations at the Wauwatosa headquarters that includes research and development as well as a warehouse in Menomonee Falls. The company also operates plants in Missouri, New York, Georgia and Alabama.
Briggs & Stratton has about 900 employees in the Milwaukee area and about 5,000 companywide, according to the latest Milwaukee Business Journal list of the largest Milwaukee-area manufacturing firms published June 14.
The plant in Auburn, Alabama, was a beneficiary of the company's shuttering of two production lines at its Wauwatosa plant resulting in 160 layoffs. With that move, engine-component production was moved to Auburn, while air-cooled home standby generator production shifted to Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
The headcount reduction in Alabama is just the latest round of production cutbacks in recent years, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal. Further information on Briggs & Stratton cutbacks can be found in the Milwaukee Business Journal's article here.
