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Hundreds lose their jobs at White River Marine Group

The company, which owns Tracker Marine, has eliminated 350 employees across its seven facilities

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White River Marine Group, which owns Tracker Marine in Lebanon, has eliminated hundreds of jobs in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the company.

The company eliminated about 350 positions on Monday across its seven facilities, including the one in Lebanon. The layoff amounts to an 11 percent reduction in the company’s workforce, according to a media release.

In the press release, White River Marine Group called the reduction in employees “temporary.”

“Our strong desire is to rehire our extremely talented individuals as quickly as conditions allow. Until then, we’re doing all we can to support impacted team members, including providing a severance program that includes full pay and benefits for an additional two weeks as well as additional support based on years of service,” the release said.

White River Marine Group has not released an exact number of employees who have lost their jobs in Lebanon. Email and phone calls asking for clarification on the issue were not returned by press time Tuesday.

The Laclede County Record will report more information as it becomes available.

The complete press release is shared below:

In response to the growing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, White River Marine Group is scaling back operations at its manufacturing plants beginning Monday, March 23, 2020.

We are greatly saddened about the personal impact this tragedy is having on our dedicated team members. Like countless other manufacturers including major American automobile companies, these conditions require us to temporarily reduce our staffing levels, and today we made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by approximately 350 positions, or 11 percent, across seven facilities.

Our strong desire is to rehire our extremely talented individuals as quickly as conditions allow. Until then, we’re doing all we can to support impacted team members, including providing a severance program that includes full pay and benefits for an additional two weeks as well as additional support based on years of service.

We remain committed to delivering America’s favorite boats and offering families the opportunity to safely spend time out on the water, which is more important than ever in these unprecedented times.