The golf market saw two companies plan staff cuts last week as industry giants Acushnet and TaylorMade-adidas Golf both reported intentions to lower headcounts.
Acushnet Co. has offered buyout packages to 125 workers, or about 4% of its U.S. staff, reports Massachusetts' South Coast Today. Citing the lagging economy and sharply declining sales, representatives at Acushnet told the Today that these “voluntary separations” would be followed by layoffs beginning in February.
Joe Gomes, Acushnets director of communications, told the Today that employees who were offered voluntary separation packages would have until the end of January to decide whether to accept the offer and added that Achushnet expects 30% to 50% of employees to participate as the company tries to minimize layoffs.
Meanwhile, on the other coast, TaylorMade-adidas Golf will cut 170 jobs as it integrates the Ashworth brand into business operations.
Scott Leightman, a spokesman for TMaG, told Sports Executive Weekly that the positions would be eliminated through a combination of consolidation and attrition over a twelve month period and that all positions eliminated would come from within the Ashworth brand.
“There are synergies that we can take advantage of and that's going to allow us to succeed with Ashworth,” Leightsman. “We look at this acquisition as a positive, and (TMaG is) going to return (Ashworth) to a level of prominence, and we feel we have the tools to do so.”
