Gun Bubble Busting? Sig Sauer Laysoff 37%

[runco]

The gun bubble is busting I do believe.  Anyway, good quick article from TTAG:

 

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/07/daniel-zimmerman/trouble-house-sig/

 

From the outside, things seem hunky dory at SIG SAUER. They just announced that they’ll be making all of their guns in the US by the end of next year. Chris and Nick are big fans of their new modular P320 one (striker fired) gun to rule them all. So imagine our surprise when we got an email from a SIG employee, who asked to remain anonymous, with tales of layoffs. According to this person, SIG’s laid off about 37% of their workforce in two rounds, the latest occurring on Friday. Our correspondent was one of those who got the short haircut. As a result, we did our own digging and talked to another well-placed source inside the New Hampshire gun maker . . .

 

According to this person, the layoffs bring SIG back down to normal operating capacity after the post-Newtown buying bubble. In other words, they responded to market conditions by adding capacity during the great gun boom, and are now responding again to new, more normal market realities.

Layoffs aren’t unique to SIG SAUER — Remington is making the same kinds of cuts to their own workforce right now, and other companies are taking a long hard look at their overhead costs now that the market for firearms and accessories isn’t quite as booming as it was last year. But for a company that just bought a brand new headquarters, hired a brand new CEO, and invested a ton of money into a brand new manufacturing plant, seeing layoffs of this size is more than slightly concerning.

Has SIG SAUER expanded to quickly for its own good? Are they having problems paying the bills? We’ll keep our ear to the ground.

 

 

[Hershmeister]

Supply and demand. Nothing mysterious here. Whats amazing is they had a 40% staffing increase to handle the extra production. Wow! Now its back to regular business.

[Lowpower]

Ask your German contact what his salary was and how many months of vacation he gets? Does he work more than 208 days a year minus

vacations, holidays and personal days off. Better not... :D

 

If you can get workers at half the price by laying off in Germany and hiring for the new factory in the U.S., wouldn't you. Especially if you don't need

to pay benefits due Obamacare and no pensions due 401K's. Hell, they can even make them work only 30 hours a week and make bundles along 

with the tax incentives for setting up a U.S. town.

 

It seems like normal 2014 business ethics to me. 

[Dolomite_supafly]

As far as gun parts go we are in a place we have never been before. The market is flooded with gun parts and they are cheaper than they have ever been. So yes, the bubble has burst. I spend every day searching through AR parts and every day I am amazed at what stuff is selling for. And when parts get cheap then guns get cheap.

[Jonnin]

maybe they need to open a line to make ammo

[nightrunner]

maybe they need to open a line to make ammo

Already done

[peejman]

I think the bubble has burst, but it'll get patched and re-inflated shockingly quickly as the 2016 election looms closer.