Marquis Yachts to continue production despite notice of possible layoffs

courtesy of Marquis Yachts LLC

US-based Marquis Yachts LLC has said there will be no disruption to its production despite warning the Wisconsin State Department of potential layoffs if a sale of the company could not be completed before March 1st.

In late January, as required by state law, Marquis filed a notice with the department of Workforce Development, saying that if it could not find a buyer, production could cease from March 1st – putting 344 employees out of work. However, FOX 11 revealed on Tuesday 25th February, in a letter sent to Marquis’ dealers the company stated it would continue production of yachts even though a sale had not yet been finalised.

The letter, dated February 3rd, to the Department and signed by President & CEO Rob Parmentier, notes, “We expect that there will not be any disruption in the continued production of our yachts.”

Matthew Vetzner, Marquis Yachts’ vice president of marketing, said: “The situation continues to be fluid and as additional information or new information becomes available we will share it with you at that time.”

The letter also states:

• Marquis has no plans to shut down indefinitely. Rather, we are in the process of selling our company to a buyer who will continue to operate Marquis in the manner you have come to expect. We are moving ever closer to finalizing a deal for the sale of our business and will continue to provide you with updates as we move through this process over the next few months.
• Marquis is continuing to build boats with a limited, dedicated, and determined workforce. This group ensured the timely delivery of boats for participation in key boat shows. We are excited to be participating in the upcoming Miami International Boat Show and look forward to seeing many of you there.
• We were required by certain federal and state laws to notify our employees of the possibility of a temporary closure of our facility beginning on March 1st. As such, to protect our employees, we filed a notice with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. We recognize that this notice generated news reports that were not accurate and, unfortunately, created confusion among the dealers and possibly your customers.
• We have a substantial backlog of boat orders and have seen a high volume of retail activity over the past few months. By all accounts, we are off to a strong 2020. We are continuing to market and sell our boats, and will, of course, continue to support you and your customers.