@@floridakayak2 Over all it was good had good medical insurance and after 30 years I have a good retirement. Would I do it again yes. I worked part time in the boat business as a marine tech also. When I retired I did that full time for 20 years.
After i graduated high school(1977 woodruff), my parents wanted me to join the rank and file going to cat. F that, joined the military and saw the world.
I work in manufacturing building MRI machines and about 35 to 40% of our factory is getting a five week layoff the US government keeps trying to say that the economy is good but they’re lying through their teeth. People get laid off left and right prices of everything are still high, but keep voting Democrat.
@@korndawggy1801 The Dems don’t fool me one bit. They are as worthless as old dog shit. I vote in every election for some down ticket topic. I show up incase I need a street light fixed.
@@rickbar123Have you ever been employed by a poor person? Higher corporate taxes mean less money for innovation and jobs. Let’s just say we tax the shit out of the billionaires. Where is that money going to go? More government waste!
We all knew this day was coming you can't continue to sell bass boats that once cost $45-70,000 $ now selling for $100,000 and Interest rates are 7 to 9 %
I am so grateful that you put out those Suzuki videos a couple years back. I bought a 250 after watching your stuff and loved it ever since. I was really close to getting another Merc..Thank you
My sister and many friends are working last shift right now at Merc. That place pulls this crap every so often. Six months ago they were working mandatory overtime and 6-7 days a week.
BLAME THE GOVERNMENT, their over spending caused the hyper inflation, their actions of the last 30 years caused this. Business is business if people can't afford life let alone expensive toys a business will have to do what they have to do.
@@kylecasetta4091if there was a single thing to blame, which there is not, it would be overproduction. The 300 employees let go from Mercury recently were all hired during the pandemic to meet a demand that simply didn't exist. My department let go of about 25 employees which seemed like a lot and then I saw that assembly was letting go of over 250 employees that I could not believe were all hired after 2021.
You do realize being layed off means your going to have a good chance of coming back. Its a 6 week vacation that most guys and gals can do some side work
@@denniswilder3014 I wouldn't necessarily refer to it as a "vacation." It's a stressful time, especially given the current economic environment. A lot of these families are living paycheck to paycheck and side jobs (if available) don't make up the deficit $$. Dedicated, motivated workers who passionately show up for work and give it their best can feel disloyalty and a sense betrayal by the company. Depression & anger sets in and leads to destructive behaviors, poisoning company culture, and stressing families. I could go on but, either you know or you don't.
i am a welder fabricator at a place that does steel and fiberglass above and below ground storm shelters …business has been great …but our steel sales rep said sales are down 19 % and our fiberglass/ gel, resin, rep for composit one said his sales are down about 30%….the crownline boat factory close to the house has laid off a bunch too ……
Satisfied merc owner. This is just business. High interest rates and inflation reduce demand for toys. Other company's will do the same, it is not just a merc thing.
Been running Mercury/Mariner outboards from 2.5hp to 250hp since 1982 starting with my 9’ Jon boat to my 21’ Bassboat and 20’ Multispecies boat I would not buy anything else they are and always have been best in the business. What we are seeing now is all due to the destruction of the economy by the regime in power and this is all by design we have see multiple small businesses forced into bankruptcy by Bidenomics including the largest Furniture Manufacturer in America who has been b in business since 1890, they are closing their 589 stores and liquidating all assets due to economic conditions brought upon us by the current political party in charge. Absolutely disgusting!
Working in manufacturing, the hourly employees see the order entry number. We know when to "abandoned ship" talk start within the department. Then the employer is shock when we leave. We're a family when it's good. It's just business when it's bad.
Japanese manufacturers are a whole lot more strategic in planning based on sales. They plan up to 6 years out on some products due to part by part manufacturing and strategic planning strategies. They have their act together when it comes to production numbers to demand. They build to sales Forcast, not a reactive schedule like most American companies. However, market conditions still effect them too. It just has a lesser impact on them. I've worked for a Japanese manufacturer for 20+ years and have been through this cycle many times. Still scary when sales numbers start slumping.
It be interesting to see the Merc hourly employee numbers before Covid. Sounds like corporate fat trimming, playing defense. Company won’t loose profit margins ever. Labor dollars are the only 100% controllable expense. Sucks for all those affected.
The number he mentioned is completely wrong and you're right. Employees were let go, as per usual, based on seniority and with the last 300 laid off we still haven't gone past those hired after the start of COVID.
Wait till Trump puts tariffs on everything coming in. The cost will not be carried by the manufacturers, it will be passed on to the consumer. The wealth will be able to eat the bump in prices but the working class will be hit hard. Buying outboards will be the last thing they think of. Remember when Trump last tried tariffs with China? China retaliated with tariffs on agriculture products that cost farmers $25 BILLION in 2018. In 2019/2020 40% of farm income came from taxpayer-funded assistance. So, come on and sing me the praises of "Trumponomics"....
As to rebadging older Mercury's to newer ones for sales, it may not be an issue. I recently bought a Cougar FTD used. It had been a pro used boat. On the title it reads: 2023 model Cougar built in 2022. The 250 Mercury was built in 2021 added to the boat in 2022. The whole boat package is considered a 2023 Cougar FTD.
Greed? More like monetary policies from the Biden administration that caused interest rates hikes, destroyed supply chains by locking people up at home, and trying to use OSHA to force them to get a jab.
Keep in mind that the outboard boat engine industry is extremely price and quality competitive. No business which prices it's products which are not a decent value for the money won't remain in business. All mfg are struggling hard to win each and every sale to keep their market share alive.
@@barryunderwood3197 It's not the engine......just the damn manufacturer..... the engines...I'm talking the dfi ones....set up right and taken care of will run forever .....BUT....they ain't grand dads oldsmobile.... I haven't seen a Merc or Yami that could touch one on equal grounds....
Salaried employees were let go first. It was honestly a surprise. My supervisor got a promotion and in another surprise they hired a new guy to replace him.
I have bought a Bennington Pontoon with a 50 hp Yamaha in Minnesota & a StarCraft aluminum fishing boat with a 70 hp Yamaha in Wisconsin. Both Dealerships sold Mercury Yamaha, & Suzuki. They steered me to Yamaha. I know Suzuki is very good but poor dealer location saturation.
As a merc service dealer, I think the market is just correcting itself in the boating world. Our service department is busier than ever and we are a 1 month back log. Mercury moving parts warehouse to Indiana has sucked, anything shipping out of Indiana takes 2-3 days longer
What would be awesome for the river run is same boat model one with each brand outboard on them. See which brand motor needs to be fixed on the trip. Which one uses less gas. Which one goes faster, cruises better, idles better, polutes less, ect.
I was at two Union factories, both of them shut down over the years, and there was always a Democrat in the White House and the unions telling us the vote for them 😂😂😂😂😂 Open your eyes people
@rootwad unions are not people. It's an organization that requires you to pay them. Guess what, the company pays them too. Unions are as corrupt as our government. Socialism at its best
I am here for the temporary layoffs if it prevents losing more of my coworkers. The permanent layoffs that have happened so far are people that were hired after covid, when the economy was fantastic. And yes, salary people are also laid off. We basically are back to pre covid numbers. It is a recreational product, and one of the first things people cut when the economy is bad. Mercury is a really great company to work for, they have treated me very well. They'll bounce back, they have before!
I can remember as a kid, passing the Mercury factory on our way to Fremont for the white bass run. This was in the early 70's and the front of the building had three or four large squares depicting chrome squares within squares, so you could sort of look deep into them in a form of an optical illusion. It was pretty cool to a 10 year old kid, and I waited and watched for the building to appear. In those days, Merc built the best of the best. Bulletproof engines. Now I wouldn't take one of their clones for free. I wish there was a reset button we could push!
High interest rates with insane prices on boats has to do with it. I feel I do pretty good and would never want to pay 100K plus for a boat that isn’t fully rigged to the gills with electronics. Keep boat prices the same and wait for wages to eventually rise at some point
@@donaldpospisil9966 created by the incompetent greedy grifting politicians who wasted trillions of taxpayer dollars on their failed corrupt policies resulting in the destruction of our economy, the working class and the country for political power and control.
@@edwardmarshall8795 not even close as much as the grifting politicians who caused the economic mess for pure political power and control over the people and who produce nor build nothing! Those who are impacted by the economic crisis don’t have anywhere near the responsibility or work load as CEO does.
Merch idea for this - you know the fist and how that was used for like, the teachers to show unity? You could do the same and make it look like a mercury outboard motor, kinda looks like one when you make a fist!
Yamaha, Suzuki, and Honda are Japanese based companies and Japanese subsidized. Mercury needs to just drop the profit percentage in order to move product. I asked a very marine educated person who told me that the outboard manufacturers pretty much charge into their products to replace it 3 times for warranty purposes.
I also out of curiosity found out through the internet that mercury marine profited 331 million last year. We won't know how much executive bonuses were on top of their 6 figure salaries.
Andy, I have been a diehard Mercury guy for the majority of my life as in the consumer motors and Merc High Performance. With that being said, It is my opinion that several entities within Brunswick Corp is ripe to be bought by private equity and the rest to go on the auction block. It sounds similar the what happened to John Deere as they were purchased by a Private equity group and the result they are moving manufacturing to mexico. Be advised John Deere profits were up and doing well. If you start hearing the word Private equity from mercury, run for your life.
Equity firms only care about money. No sense of building a relationship with people. People are just numbers to them. Those types would probably sell out their own families.
I work at mercury. They did lay off long term. The current layoffs are shot term at 2 weeks a month through the rest of the year. We knew about the layoffs people are just oblivious to the obvious. They did layoff salary employees and are still doing so. We had over 3000 hourly. We have 38000 engines in numerous warehouses.
They laying off 1700 but they are doing a big give away.. You all should go to the site and put in on that giveaway because they're giving away a tour of the planet..
First of all let me thank you you guys for this channel. Love it and keep on going. The escalation of prices and interest rates must take its toll. Secondly it seems people have changed their hobby/vacation behaviors after the outdoor hype triggered by COVID. Personally I do financially pretty well but I couldn’t for my life imagine spending $100k on a bass boat. I rather get a used one together with an optimax renovation project for fixing myself. That’s my hobby and I love it. Have done 2 so far and they work perfectly after fixing dead cylinders. Then I have a rig for no more than $15k which leaves room for all extras and electronics I want. Currently Mercury employs 7500 people worldwide and a reduction of 1700 people is scary. I have close to 40 years experience in manufacturing from engineering to ops leadership, constantly working on productivity, innovation and quality improvement. All to stay competitive in a globalized and fiercely competitive market. I can’t speak for the status of the Mercury operations in Wisconsin but I sincerely hope they focus on the right things and stays local to US and the region. That takes good leadership with long term thinking and a willingness to invest profits back in the operations rather than scooping it up and handing most of it back to the owners. That’s not always the case when you look at what’s happened to many operations in the rust belt. I love Mercury and I hope this is a market fluctuation rather than them loosing competitiveness.
Like you stated, *"Thank You Joe"* ! With this economy a lot of people can't afford the "toys". Car repossession, is that a 30 year high and cars are more of a stable unit that people need, compare the need for boats.
Never was Merc fan, Friends and relatives have been let down by them over the years and they haven't changed a bit. A close person to me is a guide and Mercury has, repeatedly, let them down and cost them serious $ and business. There's a reason they are the busiest support team at events. Nope, anything BUT a Merc will go on my bass boats.
100% you dont now and never will own a bass boat so merc isnt worried about you. We have been with merc since 1992…. One bad engine. 1996 150 efi 2.5 had a crank failure 200 hours out of warranty. One email to merc and it was replaced no costs
@@jb243wp I enjoyed giving a guy shit when I towed his pontoon boat that had a 115 hp Yamaha in to the landing while my 2015 Etec 40 was purring like a kitten.
Yes it happens and has in the past I have a 2013 Skeeter boat with a 2012 Yamaha 175HP It came from Skeeter as a 2013 model year When I asked about it was told it was a left over LOL
This was the year I was going to buy a new boat. Looked at several and the prices were insane. Financing cost and terms made any deal economically unstable. My wife kept telling me to go for it but there was no way I was going to my family in that much debt for a few months of fun a year. I'll just buy a used one for cash in the winter and fix it up. I really feel for those who will lose their jobs, it sucks and they way its going, this economy is going to tank worse than 2008-2009.
And, often not a DEI, woke cesspool where quality is secondary. I know nothing about Mercury and not implying they too are a cesspool, as a disclaimer.
It really starts with the overpriced boats. Average people can’t afford them. Someone needs to build a line of AFFORDABLE BOATS. No frills just a nice plain boat.
I Hope not too ! He has Ruined Stratos Boats as well. After Johnny had Aquired Stratos Boats he Closed the Company Down. I Really Liked STRATOS BOATS and I'm on my Second one. They are Very Good Boats 💯♥️💪😎👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I'm not quite sure what is going on. But I just got home from Florida spent time around miami with my brother who works for the coast guard. I can tell you I have never seen so many 50 foot boats with 5 and 6 mercs 350 or 400. Hundreds of them..that's a lot of money...and that's just in one harbor.. figure it out...
Yeah for some reason i don't know why i spent 60 grand on a Polaris side by side and now i don't have the money for an $80,000 US Dollar outboard motor...plus binnacle plus controls plus electronics plus even the boat plus the fishing gear plus the trailer plus the truck to tow that plus the fuel plus the daily sandwich plus the time plus the house plus the Family and now i don't even have my job anymore too! If only Brazil hadn't cut off America from the World rubber supply!
It’s just a hard time right now with high interest rates. The longer the rates are high the worse it will will get for companies. They are just trying to make it through this . Unless people buy boats it will get worse.
Overspending in DC caused money to be printed; caused inflation making outboards cost 25% more. Then the Fed raised interest rates to combat inflation with the intention of causing a slowdown in the economy which always causes layoffs. To recap: overspending -> money printing -> inflation -> higher interest rates -> slowing economy -> layoffs. You have to ask who got all that money from over spending in DC? I can say with 100% certainty not the workers in Fond du Lac. Who will those workers vote for in November? Likely not the person who can fix our economy. I hope I'm wrong.
I can't see them closing doors with how much they have invested in machines and equipment. I think they are cutting the fat but trying to keep as many employees they can in hopes the market gets better. I don't agree with that tactic but I'm just a machinist. It's not easy to get good workers. The union isn't helping us either 😒
It's called bean-counter engineering and it usually means the company's good days are over. Mercury is part of the "quantity over quality" group, umbrellaed under Brunswick who makes lots of other "quantity over quality" marine products.
@@DieLaughing69I personally think their V12 was a hail mary attempt. All that ability to design/build and they choose to blow it all in favor of quantity over quality.
Did the industry work themselves into a shoot by making boating, which has always been expensive get to the point it’s unsustainable? I think of tournament anglers upgrading boats every year and eventually there’s more $100,000 boats than there is interest in owning them at some point. Not to mention storing and maintaining. I think fishing electronics are an overlooked factor too. $3000 can buy electronics and a trolling motor that work anywhere and the advantage of having a big boat doesn’t seem so great when you can catch the same fish out of a kayak or marketplace barge.
This is what you get with the 🤡 world we are dealing with In Washington and if November goes the wrong way bass boat with be the last thing we will be worrying about.
I've bought 2 outboards in the last couple years. Mercury is the only brand I didn't consider. Got Tohatsu and Suzuki. My brother has a Honda. Everything I read said to stay away from Mercury
Have you seen how much money outboards cost today? BRP shut down Evinrude completely. It's not surprising they don't sell. I think a set of 450R''s is around 40 thousand dollars.
Shitty part is I’ve been laid off before unemployment keeps your first check hard to make your payments when you ain’t getting paid. They’ll have to find new jobs.
I've been saying for a while now that the boat market can't withstand boats costing 100+k.. this was coming, and mercury is not going to be the only one who falls
The Fed is about to start cutting interest rates but it will be a year before there is enough cuts to really notice. Of course if the economy drops into recession they will cut rates faster but recession will mean lots of people will be unemployed. Probably be another year before fishing boat market gets better maybe several if recession hits.
"IF" JM has anything to do with Brunswick or Merc, it would make sense. This is there MO, big cuts, sometimes every year they will cut a percentage of total staff, then have big hiring fares for new blood and or offer the laid off folks the same job back at reduced wages. JM & co do it all the time.. But, also I am sure with the layoffs and production cuts at Ranger and elsewhere, the higher rates and higher mortgages are cutting into sales all around. The Marine industry and the fishing industry as a whole needs to be weeded down. A lot of bloat and duplication throughout the entire industry.
@@k.williamelliott7969your mistaken sir. Mercury opened a plant in Stillwater 1976 to manufacture Mercruiser sterndrives and inboards. As your probably aware that facility was closed and sold. That manufacturing was absorbed into the Fond du Lac plant
I recently bought a mercury outboard, as a consumer yeah we're concerned because we want to make sure we get the product support of Mercury. It Makes me wonder if I made a mistake getting a Mercury, and I did just get them to warranty my whole outboard.
Government creates the problem. Government then over corrects the problem. Like a qualified new credit card captain at the fuel dock. People get hurt and property gets damaged. Wish the government would get smaller not bigger!!!
If they sell to private equity, they'll relocate the plant and machinery in a second, and operate it with $3.50hr labor w/no benefits. Whatever relocate losses will be recouped in a two years. Sadly
I worked 30 years for Caterpillar in Illinois and this is normal to get laid off every time the economy got bad. The CEO still got his bonus.
Man you haven’t got smart enough to leave IL yet? Ran from that place when I could. Everyone has a path to be a CEO if that’s the path they want
@timlane3211 other than that, how is the company overall? There is a new Kelly plant being built here in Florida. Was thinking about applying
@@floridakayak2 Over all it was good had good medical insurance and after 30 years I have a good retirement. Would I do it again yes. I worked part time in the boat business as a marine tech also. When I retired I did that full time for 20 years.
After i graduated high school(1977 woodruff), my parents wanted me to join the rank and file going to cat. F that, joined the military and saw the world.
When a motor cost more than a boat, it has consequences!
Or when the boat & motor cost more than the house you live in their may be a few consequences their as well.
the Unions did it to themselves
Especially when that super expensive price doesn't reflect the quality/reliability of what you're really buying.
I just bought a used 25 hp Mercury outboard. I wanted a new one, but in this economy, $600 sounded better than $3500.
They’re way to high over 100.000 for a bass boat that way to high.
Absolutely!
I work in manufacturing building MRI machines and about 35 to 40% of our factory is getting a five week layoff the US government keeps trying to say that the economy is good but they’re lying through their teeth. People get laid off left and right prices of everything are still high, but keep voting Democrat.
Yea!!!! Vote republican because big tax cuts for wealthy people and corporations should solve everything.
@rickbar123 you're still being fooled by the democrat narrative.
@@korndawggy1801 The Dems don’t fool me one bit. They are as worthless as old dog shit. I vote in every election for some down ticket topic. I show up incase I need a street light fixed.
@@rickbar123 You are a total fool. They will employ the ellegales before a n American
@@rickbar123Have you ever been employed by a poor person? Higher corporate taxes mean less money for innovation and jobs. Let’s just say we tax the shit out of the billionaires. Where is that money going to go? More government waste!
Mercury? If I wanted something that don’t work and is a drain on my bank account I would still be with my ex wife.
We all knew this day was coming you can't continue to sell bass boats that once cost $45-70,000 $ now selling for $100,000 and Interest rates are 7 to 9 %
I am so grateful that you put out those Suzuki videos a couple years back. I bought a 250 after watching your stuff and loved it ever since. I was really close to getting another Merc..Thank you
When sales are down, jobs get cut. Simple math.
Johnson made some of the best motors on the planet. Sad that Johnson is no longer around.
Same as Evinrude at the end.
My sister and many friends are working last shift right now at Merc. That place pulls this crap every so often. Six months ago they were working mandatory overtime and 6-7 days a week.
Building inventory knowing they were cutting at some point soon
bring back trade unions!
@@archangel19what difference would that make? Lmao. When the company is losing money people get cut. It’s math.
I hope they banked those overtime $$$$ for times like this.
@@archangel19they're already union.
I heard the CEO is going to forgoe his bonus so no more employees will be laid off. Just kidding, he screw those workers!
BLAME THE GOVERNMENT, their over spending caused the hyper inflation, their actions of the last 30 years caused this. Business is business if people can't afford life let alone expensive toys a business will have to do what they have to do.
@@kylecasetta4091if there was a single thing to blame, which there is not, it would be overproduction. The 300 employees let go from Mercury recently were all hired during the pandemic to meet a demand that simply didn't exist.
My department let go of about 25 employees which seemed like a lot and then I saw that assembly was letting go of over 250 employees that I could not believe were all hired after 2021.
So these pissed off workers that know they are getting laid off are still building Mercury motors? I don’t think I would want one of those motors.
Luckily, most workers actually have ethics, unlike you obviously.
@@bdd1469but some don't. It only takes one.
My johnson 200 2 stroke simple setup with carbs never looked better. Just did 30 miles yesterday with it.
You do realize being layed off means your going to have a good chance of coming back. Its a 6 week vacation that most guys and gals can do some side work
@@denniswilder3014 I wouldn't necessarily refer to it as a "vacation." It's a stressful time, especially given the current economic environment. A lot of these families are living paycheck to paycheck and side jobs (if available) don't make up the deficit $$. Dedicated, motivated workers who passionately show up for work and give it their best can feel disloyalty and a sense betrayal by the company. Depression & anger sets in and leads to destructive behaviors, poisoning company culture, and stressing families. I could go on but, either you know or you don't.
i am a welder fabricator at a place that does steel and fiberglass above and below ground storm shelters …business has been great …but our steel sales rep said sales are down 19 % and our fiberglass/ gel, resin, rep for composit one said his sales are down about 30%….the crownline boat factory close to the house has laid off a bunch too ……
Its a shame people are losing their jobs. The price of boats today is insane. They need to figure out how to make them more affordable
Seriously, but who buys new boats anyway? That depreciation hit is insane!
@@KortNataliI would never buy a new boat. I bought a used Bass Cat Puma and it will last me forever and paid 1/3 of the cost of a new one
@@KortNatali They sell Vexus, Ikon, and Rangers everyday. 100,000 dollar boats! Not worth it.
Nothing ever gets cheaper. It will only go up and/or just go away.
lol there is no money for that
Can’t be surprised who can afford new boats anymore.
New boats? How about new engines?
Or Trucks 😅
Satisfied merc owner. This is just business. High interest rates and inflation reduce demand for toys. Other company's will do the same, it is not just a merc thing.
Merc sucks
@@joshfeister6566 They all suck
You probably vote democrat.
Merc is the 3rd best 4 stroke out right now and I am not sure Tohatsu is far behind them if any at all.
Been running Mercury/Mariner outboards from 2.5hp to 250hp since 1982 starting with my 9’ Jon boat to my 21’ Bassboat and 20’ Multispecies boat I would not buy anything else they are and always have been best in the business. What we are seeing now is all due to the destruction of the economy by the regime in power and this is all by design we have see multiple small businesses forced into bankruptcy by Bidenomics including the largest Furniture Manufacturer in America who has been b in business since 1890, they are closing their 589 stores and liquidating all assets due to economic conditions brought upon us by the current political party in charge. Absolutely disgusting!
Working in manufacturing, the hourly employees see the order entry number. We know when to "abandoned ship" talk start within the department. Then the employer is shock when we leave. We're a family when it's good. It's just business when it's bad.
Mercury is not a family and they don't pretend that that's the case.
Japanese manufacturers are a whole lot more strategic in planning based on sales. They plan up to 6 years out on some products due to part by part manufacturing and strategic planning strategies. They have their act together when it comes to production numbers to demand. They build to sales Forcast, not a reactive schedule like most American companies. However, market conditions still effect them too. It just has a lesser impact on them. I've worked for a Japanese manufacturer for 20+ years and have been through this cycle many times. Still scary when sales numbers start slumping.
It be interesting to see the Merc hourly employee numbers before Covid. Sounds like corporate fat trimming, playing defense. Company won’t loose profit margins ever. Labor dollars are the only 100% controllable expense. Sucks for all those affected.
The number he mentioned is completely wrong and you're right. Employees were let go, as per usual, based on seniority and with the last 300 laid off we still haven't gone past those hired after the start of COVID.
Bidenomics for ya
Wait till Trump puts tariffs on everything coming in. The cost will not be carried by the manufacturers, it will be passed on to the consumer. The wealth will be able to eat the bump in prices but the working class will be hit hard. Buying outboards will be the last thing they think of. Remember when Trump last tried tariffs with China? China retaliated with tariffs on agriculture products that cost farmers $25 BILLION in 2018. In 2019/2020 40% of farm income came from taxpayer-funded assistance. So, come on and sing me the praises of "Trumponomics"....
@@slabbusterrtr7690 cackler nomics
As to rebadging older Mercury's to newer ones for sales, it may not be an issue. I recently bought a Cougar FTD used. It had been a pro used boat.
On the title it reads: 2023 model Cougar built in 2022. The 250 Mercury was built in 2021 added to the boat in 2022. The whole boat package is considered a 2023 Cougar FTD.
Greed at its finest…. High prices then high interest rates= market downturn
Greed? More like monetary policies from the Biden administration that caused interest rates hikes, destroyed supply chains by locking people up at home, and trying to use OSHA to force them to get a jab.
Define "Greed"
Learn economics
Keep in mind that the outboard boat engine industry is extremely price and quality competitive.
No business which prices it's products which are not a decent value for the money won't remain in business. All mfg are struggling hard to win each and every sale to keep their market share alive.
I just re powered from Evinrude to Merc should have re powered with oars, there’s always a demand for oars 😂
Man, I LOVE my 03 Evinrude 250......still kickin' ass and takin' names.....
There's dozens of us! Dozens!!
They suck, that's why they're no longer in business
@@barryunderwood3197 It's not the engine......just the damn manufacturer..... the engines...I'm talking the dfi ones....set up right and taken care of will run forever .....BUT....they ain't grand dads oldsmobile.... I haven't seen a Merc or Yami that could touch one on equal grounds....
@@bassmeister192
I have a 1978 140hp evinrude and she fires up easy and has a better hole shot than my 2005 Mercury Optimax.
If the layoffs don’t include the salaried employees I swear I will never buy another Brunswick product.
You are probably right. Problem is...man my merc starts up every time bro!
As a current employee I can tell you that saleried employees were cut as well
Salaried employees were let go first. It was honestly a surprise. My supervisor got a promotion and in another surprise they hired a new guy to replace him.
I have bought a Bennington Pontoon with a 50 hp Yamaha in Minnesota & a StarCraft aluminum fishing boat with a 70 hp Yamaha in Wisconsin. Both Dealerships sold Mercury Yamaha, & Suzuki. They steered me to Yamaha. I know Suzuki is very good but poor dealer location saturation.
Boat sales are down, so boat engine sales are down also: DUH!
Keep voting for democrats Wisconsin.
Exactly see how that works out for them
Democrats destroy every town or city they get control of.
The democrats left me.
Retired IUOE LOCAL 49
Don't worry. We will keep voting blue
@@gregorylyon1004 You get what you vote for
As a merc service dealer, I think the market is just correcting itself in the boating world. Our service department is busier than ever and we are a 1 month back log.
Mercury moving parts warehouse to Indiana has sucked, anything shipping out of Indiana takes 2-3 days longer
What would be awesome for the river run is same boat model one with each brand outboard on them. See which brand motor needs to be fixed on the trip. Which one uses less gas. Which one goes faster, cruises better, idles better, polutes less, ect.
I was at two Union factories, both of them shut down over the years, and there was always a Democrat in the White House and the unions telling us the vote for them 😂😂😂😂😂 Open your eyes people
Unions are the reason crap cost so much. $45 an hr to push buttons. No counting benifits....
@@rfree82 $20 an hour flipping burgers at McDonald’s 😂😂😂
@@dariusking2927 yeah for that's the real problem people like Biden and there dum policies. It goes deeper then that. But that's a start for sure
Unions are people, and it's the only way we have any way to resist the coersion and abuse by the owning class.
@rootwad unions are not people. It's an organization that requires you to pay them. Guess what, the company pays them too. Unions are as corrupt as our government. Socialism at its best
I am here for the temporary layoffs if it prevents losing more of my coworkers.
The permanent layoffs that have happened so far are people that were hired after covid, when the economy was fantastic. And yes, salary people are also laid off. We basically are back to pre covid numbers.
It is a recreational product, and one of the first things people cut when the economy is bad.
Mercury is a really great company to work for, they have treated me very well. They'll bounce back, they have before!
I can remember as a kid, passing the Mercury factory on our way to Fremont for the white bass run. This was in the early 70's and the front of the building had three or four large squares depicting chrome squares within squares, so you could sort of look deep into them in a form of an optical illusion. It was pretty cool to a 10 year old kid, and I waited and watched for the building to appear. In those days, Merc built the best of the best. Bulletproof engines. Now I wouldn't take one of their clones for free. I wish there was a reset button we could push!
High interest rates with insane prices on boats has to do with it. I feel I do pretty good and would never want to pay 100K plus for a boat that isn’t fully rigged to the gills with electronics. Keep boat prices the same and wait for wages to eventually rise at some point
People are idiots and they are paying 100k or more for a boat with nothing on it.
@@chucky6153 Then they are paying a high interest rate and funding it for 10 to 20 years!
@kevinberta8741 I had a dealer quote me 88k for a boat with 2 basic graphs, a hotfoot, jackplate and nothing else. I told them no thanks.
@@donaldpospisil9966 created by the incompetent greedy grifting politicians who wasted trillions of taxpayer dollars on their failed corrupt policies resulting in the destruction of our economy, the working class and the country for political power and control.
I guarantee the CEOs still get paid
@@edwardmarshall8795 not even close as much as the grifting politicians who caused the economic mess for pure political power and control over the people and who produce nor build nothing! Those who are impacted by the economic crisis don’t have anywhere near the responsibility or work load as CEO does.
Prolly biden's fault
I love the fundrfundraiser for Veterans!
Sounds like furlough weeks. We did this a lot back in 08-09.
Boat and motor manufacturers have priced the good OL boys out of being able to buy a boat! It’s just a hand me down market now!
If the people that got laid off didn't see it coming that's probably a huge part of what's wrong with the company right now
Few can afford new boats and motors these days. Its outrageous
Merch idea for this - you know the fist and how that was used for like, the teachers to show unity? You could do the same and make it look like a mercury outboard motor, kinda looks like one when you make a fist!
😂😂 As an 11-year hourly veteran and still employed at Mercury, I find this funny. Some of these "facts" are far from true.
We hope YOU are correct!
He is correct
Yamaha, Suzuki, and Honda are Japanese based companies and Japanese subsidized. Mercury needs to just drop the profit percentage in order to move product. I asked a very marine educated person who told me that the outboard manufacturers pretty much charge into their products to replace it 3 times for warranty purposes.
Yamaha' s are more costly to buy than mercury
@mikelembke5121 mercury is more costly to buy tha suzuki
@@benjaminhale1454 don't know about Suzuki nobody runs them out here that I have seen
I also out of curiosity found out through the internet that mercury marine profited 331 million last year. We won't know how much executive bonuses were on top of their 6 figure salaries.
@@mikelembke5121 Suzuki dealerships are probably 600 miles apart but there's a mercury dealer on every corner.
Andy, I have been a diehard Mercury guy for the majority of my life as in the consumer motors and Merc High Performance. With that being said, It is my opinion that several entities within Brunswick Corp is ripe to be bought by private equity and the rest to go on the auction block. It sounds similar the what happened to John Deere as they were purchased by a Private equity group and the result they are moving manufacturing to mexico. Be advised John Deere profits were up and doing well. If you start hearing the word Private equity from mercury, run for your life.
Great point Jeff!!!
Equity firms only care about money. No sense of building a relationship with people. People are just numbers to them. Those types would probably sell out their own families.
Vanguard and Blackrock are already in the mercury party.
@@Resistculturaldecline don’t forget State Street!
@@TeamMarineService 🤢🤮
I work at mercury. They did lay off long term. The current layoffs are shot term at 2 weeks a month through the rest of the year. We knew about the layoffs people are just oblivious to the obvious. They did layoff salary employees and are still doing so. We had over 3000 hourly. We have 38000 engines in numerous warehouses.
38,000 engines sitting in warehouses?! Wow!
They laying off 1700 but they are doing a big give away.. You all should go to the site and put in on that giveaway because they're giving away a tour of the planet..
The people have spoken!
First of all let me thank you you guys for this channel. Love it and keep on going.
The escalation of prices and interest rates must take its toll. Secondly it seems people have changed their hobby/vacation behaviors after the outdoor hype triggered by COVID.
Personally I do financially pretty well but I couldn’t for my life imagine spending $100k on a bass boat. I rather get a used one together with an optimax renovation project for fixing myself. That’s my hobby and I love it. Have done 2 so far and they work perfectly after fixing dead cylinders. Then I have a rig for no more than $15k which leaves room for all extras and electronics I want.
Currently Mercury employs 7500 people worldwide and a reduction of 1700 people is scary. I have close to 40 years experience in manufacturing from engineering to ops leadership, constantly working on productivity, innovation and quality improvement. All to stay competitive in a globalized and fiercely competitive market. I can’t speak for the status of the Mercury operations in Wisconsin but I sincerely hope they focus on the right things and stays local to US and the region. That takes good leadership with long term thinking and a willingness to invest profits back in the operations rather than scooping it up and handing most of it back to the owners. That’s not always the case when you look at what’s happened to many operations in the rust belt.
I love Mercury and I hope this is a market fluctuation rather than them loosing competitiveness.
Like you stated, *"Thank You Joe"* !
With this economy a lot of people can't afford the "toys".
Car repossession, is that a 30 year high and cars are more of a stable unit that people need, compare the need for boats.
The chair warmers like all sectors need pay cuts to free things to more
Andy; I bought a new 25hp Suzuki last year. I wanted a Merc but they wanted $2000 more. That’s the problem. They’ve got to be more competitive.
You’re right! I bought a Suzuki 25 hp too! It’s the best boat motor I’ve ever owned.
Never was Merc fan, Friends and relatives have been let down by them over the years and they haven't changed a bit. A close person to me is a guide and Mercury has, repeatedly, let them down and cost them serious $ and business. There's a reason they are the busiest support team at events. Nope, anything BUT a Merc will go on my bass boats.
100% you dont now and never will own a bass boat so merc isnt worried about you. We have been with merc since 1992…. One bad engine. 1996 150 efi 2.5 had a crank failure 200 hours out of warranty. One email to merc and it was replaced no costs
Merc will definitely get you there quicker, no doubt..
A Yammy or a Zuki will get you there more often.
@@jb243wp I enjoyed giving a guy shit when I towed his pontoon boat that had a 115 hp Yamaha in to the landing while my 2015 Etec 40 was purring like a kitten.
@@korndawggy1801 Nice work, the old 2 banger 👍
Yes it happens and has in the past I have a 2013 Skeeter boat with a 2012 Yamaha 175HP It came from Skeeter as a 2013 model year When I asked about it was told it was a left over LOL
This was the year I was going to buy a new boat. Looked at several and the prices were insane. Financing cost and terms made any deal economically unstable.
My wife kept telling me to go for it but there was no way I was going to my family in that much debt for a few months of fun a year.
I'll just buy a used one for cash in the winter and fix it up.
I really feel for those who will lose their jobs, it sucks and they way its going, this economy is going to tank worse than 2008-2009.
Japanese brands. Better quality, same or lower price.
And, often not a DEI, woke cesspool where quality is secondary. I know nothing about Mercury and not implying they too are a cesspool, as a disclaimer.
@@rodmccrimmon7975 Is everything DEI to people like you? If you stub your toe in the morning is it DEI or Biden’s fault? 😂
Give us the Tshirt 🙈🫡💪‼️ heck of a idea at the end there. Yall have a blessed week
It really starts with the overpriced boats. Average people can’t afford them. Someone needs to build a line of AFFORDABLE BOATS. No frills just a nice plain boat.
Keep it up boy always look forward to Fridays
Just wanted to say that all motors matter. Keep America great!!!
Ladies and Gentlemen……….I would like to introduce Mercury’s new owner…. Johnny Morris!!!
You might be correct
I hope not, he ruined Ranger Boats
I Hope not too ! He has Ruined Stratos Boats as well. After Johnny had Aquired Stratos Boats he Closed the Company Down. I Really Liked STRATOS BOATS and I'm on my Second one. They are Very Good Boats 💯♥️💪😎👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
@@johnelsonjr.6008did the same shit with legend boats
I'm not quite sure what is going on. But I just got home from Florida spent time around miami with my brother who works for the coast guard. I can tell you I have never seen so many 50 foot boats with 5 and 6 mercs 350 or 400. Hundreds of them..that's a lot of money...and that's just in one harbor.. figure it out...
Yea your right they will filter them back in question is who's going to be FILTERED back in
Set a world record on the vet run. Fastest time to travel the length of Mississippi.
High ups chair warmers get low costs on items and more
How long do you think it will be before the boat prices start to come down.
They won't
Big layoffs show profit increases on paper and drives the stock up. They might be looking to sell the company.
I’m definitely nervous with our pending Nov election. Toys & good times might be done with all the BS going on. Keep the faith gang. 🇺🇸
LOL…Election should have no bearing on your toys. Only people that finance things care about it. Actually an awesome time for toys now.
Yeah for some reason i don't know why i spent 60 grand on a Polaris side by side and now i don't have the money for an $80,000 US Dollar outboard motor...plus binnacle plus controls plus electronics plus even the boat plus the fishing gear plus the trailer plus the truck to tow that plus the fuel plus the daily sandwich plus the time plus the house plus the Family and now i don't even have my job anymore too! If only Brazil hadn't cut off America from the World rubber supply!
It’s just a hard time right now with high interest rates. The longer the rates are high the worse it will will get for companies. They are just trying to make it through this . Unless people buy boats it will get worse.
I’m afraid that my opti will run out of parts haha. Blew my compressor and it’s on back order for who knows how long.
Man, if you're running a poptimax and don't have a spare compressor on hand you're asking for it
I think MERC can keep everyone busy just building opti parts
Got my opti back a month ago, took 45 days for compressor to come in
@@aschrofer mechanic told me mid August but could be longer.
Ran poptimaxs commercially, compressors were a wear item. Maybe they'd last 500hrs
Overspending in DC caused money to be printed; caused inflation making outboards cost 25% more. Then the Fed raised interest rates to combat inflation with the intention of causing a slowdown in the economy which always causes layoffs.
To recap: overspending -> money printing -> inflation -> higher interest rates -> slowing economy -> layoffs.
You have to ask who got all that money from over spending in DC? I can say with 100% certainty not the workers in Fond du Lac.
Who will those workers vote for in November? Likely not the person who can fix our economy. I hope I'm wrong.
Factual economics.
I just bought a Sundolphin American 12 jon boat and purchased a new Hangkai 6 hp 2 stroke outboard motor on eBay. Very nice affordable boat. 😃👍
WOW! how's it been?
Bought the 6hp 2 stroke Hangkai 3 years ago .. buddy gave me flak for following the break in cycle..lol
Man that sucks to loose ur job like that
Years
I’m just down in portage Wisconsin. When is the media river run?
Machinist at merc for 13 years and i have no clue what the hell they're up to 😂
I can't see them closing doors with how much they have invested in machines and equipment. I think they are cutting the fat but trying to keep as many employees they can in hopes the market gets better. I don't agree with that tactic but I'm just a machinist. It's not easy to get good workers. The union isn't helping us either 😒
It's called bean-counter engineering and it usually means the company's good days are over. Mercury is part of the "quantity over quality" group, umbrellaed under Brunswick who makes lots of other "quantity over quality" marine products.
@@DieLaughing69I personally think their V12 was a hail mary attempt. All that ability to design/build and they choose to blow it all in favor of quantity over quality.
You are not wrong. Corporate greed.
@@DieLaughing69 Yep...
Prior to the layoff Salary people were let go first. Couple hundred. My Step-father was one of them. They called it Black Tuesday or something.
Did the industry work themselves into a shoot by making boating, which has always been expensive get to the point it’s unsustainable? I think of tournament anglers upgrading boats every year and eventually there’s more $100,000 boats than there is interest in owning them at some point. Not to mention storing and maintaining.
I think fishing electronics are an overlooked factor too. $3000 can buy electronics and a trolling motor that work anywhere and the advantage of having a big boat doesn’t seem so great when you can catch the same fish out of a kayak or marketplace barge.
How many Chinese got the axe ?
This is what you get with the 🤡 world we are dealing with In Washington and if November goes the wrong way bass boat with be the last thing we will be worrying about.
I am installing solar powered charging docks for all the new electric boats.🤔
Really? Where at?
@@TeamMarineService all over the lake, have sails for mobility
I've bought 2 outboards in the last couple years. Mercury is the only brand I didn't consider. Got Tohatsu and Suzuki. My brother has a Honda. Everything I read said to stay away from Mercury
Boyd Duckett has entered the chat 😂
Have you seen how much money outboards cost today? BRP shut down Evinrude completely. It's not surprising they don't sell. I think a set of 450R''s is around 40 thousand dollars.
Shitty part is I’ve been laid off before unemployment keeps your first check hard to make your payments when you ain’t getting paid. They’ll have to find new jobs.
1700 is a lot, how many total could they have?
I bought a new boat last summer. This year same boat with motor costs 17% more in 1 year.
Vanguard and Blackrock are 2 of Brunswick Boat Group largest 3 shareholders.
I've been saying for a while now that the boat market can't withstand boats costing 100+k.. this was coming, and mercury is not going to be the only one who falls
Nope they ain't mercury is smart they see what's coming
The Fed is about to start cutting interest rates but it will be a year before there is enough cuts to really notice. Of course if the economy drops into recession they will cut rates faster but recession will mean lots of people will be unemployed. Probably be another year before fishing boat market gets better maybe several if recession hits.
A fairly good read of the present economy.
"IF" JM has anything to do with Brunswick or Merc, it would make sense. This is there MO, big cuts, sometimes every year they will cut a percentage of total staff, then have big hiring fares for new blood and or offer the laid off folks the same job back at reduced wages. JM & co do it all the time.. But, also I am sure with the layoffs and production cuts at Ranger and elsewhere, the higher rates and higher mortgages are cutting into sales all around.
The Marine industry and the fishing industry as a whole needs to be weeded down. A lot of bloat and duplication throughout the entire industry.
off to mexico they go
It's pretty sad, when you can't afford a new pickup and a boat in the same decade!
Glad mine is paid for.
Mercury, founded in Stillwater, OK, left OK to move to WI. May not have been the best long term strategy.
Cedarburg WI get your facts straight
@@Cncguy79 I have my fact correct. Lived in Stillwater for years.
@@k.williamelliott7969 85years?
@@Cncguy79 OK, you are correct. Stillwater was a manufacturing facility that mercury shut down to move to F'ing Liberal cheese head land. Congrats!
@@k.williamelliott7969your mistaken sir. Mercury opened a plant in Stillwater 1976 to manufacture Mercruiser sterndrives and inboards. As your probably aware that facility was closed and sold. That manufacturing was absorbed into the Fond du Lac plant
I recently bought a mercury outboard, as a consumer yeah we're concerned because we want to make sure we get the product support of Mercury. It Makes me wonder if I made a mistake getting a Mercury, and I did just get them to warranty my whole outboard.
You did! Good luck with that.
Pro Staff cuts?
Does Blackrock or vanguard have any ownership in these companies 🤔
They're 2 or the largest 3 shareholders of Brunswick
FACTS OF LIFE: Anyone can be taught to turn a wrench, but talent to keep the company profitable and competitive is harder to find.
As a steam turbine mechanic, I strongly disagree with this statement
@@alexhoule2343 false. i taught 100s of privates in the army how to work on blackhawks. lots of dumb kids.
Anyone can be taught to spread propaganda!
You have never worked with your hands
Amen
Government creates the problem. Government then over corrects the problem. Like a qualified new credit card captain at the fuel dock. People get hurt and property gets damaged. Wish the government would get smaller not bigger!!!
Mercury isn’t leaving fond du lac anytime soon. They’ve invested a lot in machinery there in the last 8 years.
If they sell to private equity, they'll relocate the plant and machinery in a second, and operate it with $3.50hr labor w/no benefits. Whatever relocate losses will be recouped in a two years. Sadly