Business
10:21, 04-Aug-2018
Harley-Davidson begins to shut down Kansas factory
Updated
09:46, 07-Aug-2018
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US motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson on Friday began to shut down its factory in Kansas City and shift its production to Thailand to avoid EU retaliatory tariffs.
About 180 workers are ready to complete their final work and leave the factory that has been in operation for 20 years, while other staff will stay until next year when the factory is completely shut down.
Harley-Davidson will also transfer its three models currently manufactured in Kansas City to the Pennsylvania factory, leaving 800 workers in Missouri unemployed.
The US motorcycle maker on June 25 decided to move some of its overseas production for EU destinations from US factories to Thailand and other countries to avoid possible EU tariffs of up to 100 million US dollars.
It expects to take at least nine to 18 months to complete additional investments in overseas production facilities.
As a countermeasure against the US steel and aluminum tariffs imposed earlier June, the EU increased US motorcycle tariffs from 6 percent to 31 percent.
Hit by the trade war, Harley-Davidson reported a 6.4-percent profit decline in the second quarter.