Century cuts 40 jobs
Panama City, Fla. – Century Boat Co. has eliminated 40 full-time positions at its Panama City facility citing tough economic times in the marine industry, the News Herald newspaper reported in a bulletin yesterday.
Company spokesman Bob Bartels said the past year had been challenging for all saltwater boat manufacturers and called the job cuts unfortunate.
“We’re trying to position ourselves to be strong in the future,” Bartels told the newspaper.
Century has about 225 employees, including production and management, at the facility. The company informed the 40 affected employees of the cuts about two weeks ago, the News Herald reported.
The cuts come as Century is entering the final stages of a 20,000-square-foot capital expansion project. The project will give the company increased manufacturing capacity and fit its factory production lines with a separate mold rotation area and a state-of-the-art makeup system in its grinding area, according to the newspaper.
It also will allow Century to spread out its current production lines.
Bartels said that with the additional space, the company hoped to be able to build larger boats in the future.
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