Suzuki has announced that it has cut its U.S. workforce by about 8 percent, eliminating 50 employees from its U.S. workforce of 600. Suzuki announced in a letter to employees last March that it planned to cut 55 workers, but fell just short of that mark.
Of the 50 eliminations, only 20 employees took buyout or retirement packages. Suzuki was then forced to eliminate 30 more jobs when it did not meet requirements for volunteer buyouts, according to Automotive News.
In that March letter, Company chairman and grandson of Michio Suzuki , founder of Suzuki Motor Corp., Rick Suzuki also said he would step down from his position, but Suzuki has yet to relinquish that title. It remains unclear if and when Suzuki will step down from his post.
Suzuki cited poor U.S. sales as the reason for the job cuts. Through the first half of the year, Suzuki has sold 56,248, down 2.2 percent from last year and well off the pace to meet Suzuki’s goal to sell 200,000 vehicles in the U.S.
