- April 24, 2024
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Brunswick Corp. is shutting down its Sea Ray boats plant in Flagler County and will be laying off hundreds of workers as it discontinues its sport yacht and yacht models, according to a news release from Brunswick.
Employees in Flagler County were notified the morning of June 25. The Palm Coast plant employs approximately 400 people and has cycled through large-scale layoffs and hirings in recent years. Production will also wind down at a Sea Ray plant at Sykes Creek. Between the two locations, Brunswick expects to eliminate as many as 825 positions.
The Palm Coast plant, located off Roberts Road on the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway, “is targeted for closure as soon as practical in 2018,” while the Sykes Creek location will stay open “to support customer service and warranty obligations, along with other operational requirements,” according to the news release.
“This is a devastating blow to our community,” Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland said in a statement. “Sea Ray has been an economic driver for us for years, and this decision will negatively impact us in so many ways. My thoughts go directly to the employees and their families. We must come together as a community to help find employment for them as quickly as possible. I will be reaching out to our Workforce Development Agency to determine a path forward.”
Helga van Eckert, executive director of the Flagler County Department of Economic Opportunity, said the department learned of the planned closure the morning of June 25.
“This came as a surprise ... and now the priority really is to take care of the employees that are being displaced,” she said.
Before noon, she’d spoken to Sea Ray management about how to support the employees through the closure. Sea Ray, she said, is still in the process of putting together a transition program for the Flagler County employees and seeing whether any might be able to be relocated to other Sea Ray facilities. She expected the details to be clearer by next week.
“We’ll be working with them over the next couple of weeks, as well as our partners over at Career Source, and putting on a job fair,” she said. “We’ve also heard from some businesses that might want to hire (the Sea Ray employees).”
“Everybody’s shocked. ... I’m hoping that we’ve done everything that we can from a city and a county perspective. ... What we’re looking at is over 400 jobs, with benefits. That’s a big hit to the community.”
— Larry Newsom, Flagler Beach City Manager
One advantage the employees have, she said, is that they’re a skilled workforce.
“When you look at the skill sets that are there, these are people that have a strong work ethic, have a diverse array of skills,” she said. “With the workforce shortage that is being experienced in our region, the skill labor shortage is massive.”
Sea Ray is one of the county’s top 10 employers, she said, and the closure will affect the county’s employment statistics.
“It will impact our numbers for sure, having a company of that magnitude close their doors — so we’ll be doing everything we can to counter that impact,” she said.
Although some displaced employees might end up finding work outside the county in Volusia County or in Jacksonville, she said, “Our goal is to create additional jobs within the community so they can stay local.”
The Palm Coast plant became a subject of local controversy in 2015 when Sea Ray proposed a plan to expand its employee parking lot, while neighbors feared the parking lot expansion would become a cover for industrial expansion that would affect their quality of life. The County Commission unanimously approved the land use change required for the parking lot expansion. The city of Flagler Beach filed a legal challenge to the county's decision, but ultimately settled.
At the time, Sea Ray’s supporters pointed out the plant’s large workforce — then about 650 — and its high average wage of about $47,000 per year as a reason to be accommodating.
“It’s an incredible tragedy; we made a lot of concessions to keep them here,” County Commissioner Nate McLaughlin said. “We’ve done a lot of things for them. We’re very disappointed. But at the end of the day, they’ve got to sell boats to stay in business.” He added that the county is helping place workers in new jobs.
Brunswick has been trying to sell Sea Ray since December 2017 and has ended its sale process, according to the news release.
Instead, it will "retain and revitalize Sea Ray and leverage its premium brand to capitalize on growth opportunities in its sport boat and cruiser product categories," but will end the Sea Ray sport yacht and yacht models, winding down production this year.
"Over the last several months, we have engaged in a thorough sale process for the Sea Ray business, which we believed would generate the highest value for our shareholders," Brunswick Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mark Schwabero explained in the Brunswick news release. "Although there was interest in the business, the offers we received did not reflect an appropriate value for this premium brand and did not meet our expectations. The lower value was largely due to the persistently weak financial performance of the yacht product category, which complicated and obscured the value of the remainder of Sea Ray.
"As the sale process neared conclusion, we started to evaluate other strategic options beyond our original plan to sell the Sea Ray business in its entirety," Schwabero continued. "Based on that re-assessment, we have concluded that our best opportunity to maximize value is to retain the Sea Ray brand and refocus the business on the sport boat and cruiser product portfolio. As part of the transformation of Sea Ray, we will discontinue sport yacht and yacht models and begin an orderly wind down of yacht production."
Sea Ray, Marine Consumer Solutions President David Foulkes said in the news release, will focus on sport boats and cruisers, emphasizing 24-40-foot categories.
