Manitowoc to Cut 130 Jobs this Month

July 1, 2015 - Manitowoc Cranes announced it will lay off 130 employees at its Shady Grove, Pa. plant before mid-July. The company attributes the impending staff cuts—8% of its work force—to a drop in crane sales due to low oil prices.

 

New orders for Manitowoc cranes in the first quarter of 2015 dropped more than a third from a year earlier, down $247 million. According to a local newspaper report, orders were down from the previous quarter some $294 million. Crane sales through March were down 15%, or $60 million compared to a year earlier, primarily due to lower revenues from the sale of boom truck and rough-terrain cranes, both of which are made at the Shady Grove plant.

 

Euro and U.S. dollar exchange rates also affected Manitowoc’s revenues in the first quarter. “We witnessed pockets of strength in certain product categories, including all-terrain market share growth, as well as year-over-year growth in the Middle East and Asia/Pacific regions,” said Glen E. Tellock, chairman and CEO. “We anticipate an improving second half will enable us to reach our full-year expectations for the business, in spite of lackluster market conditions." The company expects to see a 5% decline in crane revenue for the full-year 2015, according to the news article.