A slowdown in the domestic market has prompted Rome’s Suzuki Manufacturing of America Corp. plant to idle domestic production for two to two-and-a-half weeks each month from September through December, said Alan Horne, the company’s global sales supervisor.

A company spokesman stated that the approximately 190 employees at the Rome plant will be eligible for unemployment benefits during this unpaid time off.

The reduction in production is related to a sales decline and inventory overload here in the U.S. market.

In order to clear out the inventory in existing dealerships, the plant is not going to produce any products for the domestic market during those next several months while Suzuki continues to sell — hopefully bringing inventory levels down.

The Rome plant, at 1520 Technology Parkway, is Suzuki’s only fully-owned U.S. manufacturing facility.

The plant, which opened in 2002, makes about half of Suzuki ATVs worldwide, while the rest is divided between two plants in Japan, also the location of the company’s headquarters

 

RNT