hatteras yachts layoffs 2023

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Hatteras Yachts lays off approximately 80 workers amid uncertain economic environment

Hatteras Yachts has laid off approximately 80 workers this past week at its New Bern plant in North Carolina, USA. 

Bass Pro, which acquired Hatteras Yachts through White River Marine Group in 2021, stated that the cutbacks were driven in part by the "current economic environment", but that every effort was being taken to "support [its] people" as the yard continues to navigate the uncertainty of the market. 

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Dozens of employees laid off from Hatteras Yachts

Dozens of workers have been laid off from their jobs at Hatters Yachts in New Bern. 

NewsChannel 12 was made aware of the layoffs Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. 

Craven County Economic Development Director Jeff Wood confirmed 80 employees were laid off. 

In a statement, Bass Pro - which owns White River Marine Group and acquired Hatteras Yachts in 2021 - stated the layoffs were "Due to the current economic conditions and the desire to invest in new boat designs."

Lieutenant Donald McInnis with the New Bern Police Department said multiple off-duty officers were on hand at Hatteras during the layoffs. 

Lt. McInnis said no incidents took place. 

Hatteras Yachts manufactured high-end luxury yachts at its Craven County plant. 

At the time in 2021, White River Marine announced the addition of hundreds of new jobs and talked about expansion plans. 

Wood said there are no plans that he knows of to shut down the plant altogether. 

He said there are programs to help the laid off workers get new jobs through NC Works and Craven Community College. 

Senator Jim Perry, of NC, also issued a statement saying “Hatteras has invested in our community and we are thrilled to have them in Eastern NC. They have an incredible product and they are a great company. This is a macro issue and demand for their product is impacted by these terrible interest rates and global uncertainty. No one is immune to the impact of poor economic policy decisions. I am afraid we will see more of this around our country in the future .”

This is a developing story. NewsChannel 12 will update you as it unfolds. 

Hatteras Yachts Layoffs Affect About 80

About 80 people lost their jobs this week in a series of Hatteras Yachts layoffs.

Hatteras Yachts laid off about 80 workers at their New Bern, North Carolina facility earlier this week. The layoffs, which were reported to have happened on Monday, were pinned to economic factors in the boating and yachting industry. In a statement, Bass Pro blamed ‘the current economic conditions and the desire to invest in new boat designs.” Bass Pro owns White River Marine Group and bought Hatteras in 2021. Sources at the scene said the layoffs came as a surprise to workers.

Craven County Economic Director Jeff Wood told the New Bern Sun Journal that even after the layoffs, more people work for Hatteras Yachts than did when White River bought it. He had been in touch with Hatteras, he said.

“They’re going to take this time to do some more investments, especially in the Hatteras brand, but they’re going to continue to invest in all three brands,” Wood told the newspaper. “They’re looking at long-term strategies.”

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Trick or Treat: Hatteras lays off 40-84 workers

Hatteras Yachts laid off as many as 84 workers on October 30, according to sources reached by New Bern Live.

The layoffs came as a surprise to the workers, one source said.

New Bern police verified that Hatteras Yachts hired off-duty officers to be present at its facility on October 30.

It apparently took many local leaders by surprise as well. Craven County Manager Jack Veit said that he had heard of the layoffs but could not confirm them, adding that he and Economic Development director Jeff Woods are in contact with corporate headquarters, trying to get exact information.

State Representative Steve Tyson said he had not yet heard the news, either.

Hatteras Yacht was purchased by White River Marine Group in May, 2021. The company received special incentives from Craven County and the state in a five year agreement that stated it would open a recreational boat facility hiring 500 workers by 2026.

According to a press release from Governor Roy Cooper’s office issue May 20, 2021, " Plans call for a major investment to modernize the Hatteras facility and establish a state-of-the-art coastal manufacturing center generating hundreds of new jobs. ”

According to zippea.com, Hatteras Yachts, founded as a luxury yacht manufacturer in 1959, had a total workforce of 1320 as of August, 2023.

 The exact number of layoffs is still unknown, but sources cite numbers from 40 to 84.

Hatteras Yacht company was called for comment but the manufacturer was not answering phones. The parent company, White River Marine, had not yet returned emails for information as of 12 p.m.

This is a developing story and New Bern Live will update new information as it comes in.

Hatteras Cabo Yachts in New Bern lays off 23

by Jason O. Boyd

NEW BERN, Craven County - Hatteras Cabo Yachts in New Bern had a round of layoffs on Friday.

According to Joe Cacopardo, a spokesperson for the company, 23 employees were laid off. Cacopardo said the layoffs are a direct result of a recent overall decrease in the large motor yacht market. He added the company is holding an event in September to bring 100 high-potential customers to New Bern for the premier of the company's new 90 motor yacht. The company expects the current market softness to be temporary and hope to see growth going forward.

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lwrandall senior member

Hatteras has announce another but significant lay off at their main facility in New Bern, NC. 330 workers in this round. Hatteras has gone from a high of 1400 employees to about 300. Very sad... Hatteras Yachts cuts 330 workers Sue Book January 14, 2009 - 7:45PM Hatteras Yachts laid off more than half the workforce at its New Bern plant on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of a companywide restructuring plan to stay afloat. The company cut 330 workers, said Bill Naumann, Hatteras Yachts chairman, and is redesigning its business model "to make us more nimble." The cuts included employees in management and in production jobs. Naumann came back to Hatteras in November from retirement to chart a course for change. He announced the restructuring on Wednesday along with Hatteras Collection President and CEO James Meyer after all employees affected had been advised of their status. "This is a small town; these people are our friends and neighbors," Naumann said. "This decision was painful but it was not difficult to figure out what you have to do to survive. We tried to do this decisively, quickly, and with compassion." Meyer said that at all levels, employees "took it well. These are class people, gracious people. They are hoping to come back and we're hoping to bring them back." Naumann said, "The bottom line is that over the last year the marine industry of which Hatteras is a part has deteriorated somewhere between 60 to 70 percent. We did what we had to do. Our goal is to salvage this company and reposition it for growth." Hatteras once employed about 1,400 people in New Bern. It has made changes to its operation over the last year in an effort to cope, including adding new models and scaling back the workforce. It closed its Swansboro facility last January, eliminating 200 jobs, and rolled out a 56-foot motor yacht in March. It cut 325 jobs at the New Bern and Edenton plants in August, then in December sold the Albemarle Plant in Edenton with about 100 employees. The company was established in 1959 and was acquired by Brunswick Corporation in 2001. It continues to produce two brands in New Bern and in Adelanto, Calif. The brands, Cabot and Hatteras Yachts, are sport fishing and motor yachts between 50 and 100 feet long. "Unfortunately, making fewer boats will mean fewer workers required and consequently, we have reduced our New Bern work force accordingly," Meyer said. The 330 layoffs this week leave the New Bern plant with 295 to 300 employees. Meyer and Naumann said those who were cut were told individually or in small groups. Meyer said that "due to the size of our workforce now, these were all good employees. In time, we hope to hire every one of them back." Neumann said, "Everybody was given some kind of severance package. We did not let anybody go without something. They all knew it was coming." The packages varied depending on the job and the employees' longevity and were determined by seniority, skill set, and versatility. They included pay and continuation of benefits, some "for a long time," Naumann said. The marine industry is cyclical and has seen significant cutbacks at the New Bern Hatteras plant in 1995 and 2001, Naumann said. The kind of customers who buy Hatteras Yachts often "have the money but lose the will to spend the money in bad times," he said. Demand is expected to return with a return of consumer confidence, probably when the Dow Jones Industrial Average hits 10,000 and the Standard and Poor's hits 1200 as two key indicators. "The plan is to maintain a 32-hour work week and ... to try to retain as many skill sets as possible so we can quickly ramp up when that comes," Naumann said. An order of employee recall will depend on demand. Meyer said that "our business will come back as fast as it left us." He said that "when an industry falls off the cliff you can't take out cost fast enough" to avoid losing money in the short term but the restructuring is coming quickly enough to keep the company solvent for comeback.

993RSR Senior Member

This type of contraction is not limited to Hatteras. Manufacturers of watches, shoes, aircraft, RV's and cork screws are laying off. In the past 50% of the goods consumed were purchased by people who qualified for "terms". Trading in the 20K SUV they owed $33K on and no money down financing $58K on a very nice $45K ride. Now that these terms (consumers) have been (rightfully so) excluded and the qualified consumers have taken a wait a see stance consuming is at a stand still. New boats, all, are suffering. Used boats, with few exceptions, are changing hands at very low values.

Capt J Senior Member

It is very sad to hear that Hatteras is laying off that many people. I spent a week in New Bern, and there are NO other jobs to speak of in that town or for about an hour around it. Aside from a few mom and pop stores and a few hotels, Hatteras pretty much supported the entire local economy by employing so many people.

Fishtigua Senior Member

A little ray of hope. There is a small yard in England that makes gaff cutters called Cornish Crabbers. They went into administration but a guy who bought one earlier in the year had so many compliments from fellow sailors he bought the company and restarted production. Light at the end of the tunnel?

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hatteras yachts lay layoffs 2023