Winnebago closing Charles City assembly facility, laying off 36

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Winnebago Industries announced that is is closing the smaller of its two sites in Charles City, laying off 36 workers, but its larger Charles City Hardwoods facility would not be affected.

The notice was posted on the Iowa Workforce Development’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act site. It says the notice was made Tuesday, July 9, and the layoff date will be effective Sept. 1.

Daniel Sullivan, the Winnebago director of communications, told the Press in an email that the company had decided to move the manufacturing of its Class B products from Charles City to Lake Mills.

B Class recreational vehicles are smaller motorhomes often built on a van chassis.

“Winnebago is always looking to better optimize its businesses and functions,” Sullivan said. “As part of our effort to continue to build the highest quality and most innovative Class B products, we are creating a manufacturing center of excellence in our Lake Mills facility which will now be responsible for building some of our most iconic brands like Revel, Travato, Solis and Roam.

“As a result, we have made the difficult decision to move the manufacturing of Class B products from our Charles City Assembly facility to Lake Mills,” he said.

“We will continue to have a presence in Charles City as our Hardwoods facility is unimpacted by this adjustment,” Sullivan said, adding that the company is offering laid-off employees jobs at the Lake Mills facility and providing other assistance.

Sullivan declined to comment on the future of the 50,000-square-foot assembly building or why the decision had been made to concentrate Class B manufacturing in Lake Mills.

Tim Fox, CEO of the Charles City Area Development Corp., said he had talked with a Winnebago representative about the closing and the notification process.

“Winnebago has to make a decision whether they’re going to repurpose their facility or sell it. We’re prepared to work with them either way,” he said.

“Obviously we hate to see 36 people lose their jobs, but Winnebago still has the fully occupied Hardwood Facility,” he said.

Fox said he thinks that Iowa Workforce Development will provide some good help to the laid-off employees as far as working on skills to find new jobs.

And he has since the beginning of the year been emphasizing the availability of an Explore Manufacturing course available through the Area Development Corp. to help people improve their skills with the goal of landing a job in area manufacturing businesses.

It covers similar areas to Workforce Development, including interviewing, emphasis on soft skills, how to market yourself to an employer, high school equivalency degree, resume construction and sample interviewing with a local business representative.

Fox said he isn’t familiar with the skill sets that the Winnebago employees have, but perhaps the course could help them transition into other area manufacturing positions.

Asked if there are openings with Charles City area companies that the Winnebago employees might be interested in, Fox replied, “Absolutely.”

Winnebago has had a history in Charles City for about 25 years, at one point employing almost 400 workers including at a large facility that did full assembly of the big Class C motorhomes Winnebago is best known for.

That was done in a 204,000-square-foot plant in the Southwest Development Park, where the Class C Assembly and the Hardwoods Facility are also located.

That large assembly plant, which employed 270 people, closed in 2008 amidst a downturn in the recreational vehicle market. The building was sold in 2010 to CGS Tires U.S., which became Mitas, then Trelleborg and now Yokohama tire manufacturing.

Between 80 and 100 people are employed in the Charles City Hardwoods Facility, a 100,000-square-foot plant next to the Charles City Assembly facility that is closing.

The Hardwoods Facility fabricates, assembles and finishes hardwood products for Winnebago motorhomes, such as cabinet doors, drawer faces, solid-wood cabinet face frames, countertops and many different kinds of trim pieces.

Winnebago Industries manufactures motorhomes, travel trailers and boats under the Winnebago, Grand Design, Newmar and Chris-Craft brands. Manufacturing locations include Forest City, Indiana, Lake Mills and Charles City.

For the fiscal year 2023, Winnebago Industries reported sales of approximately $4.9 billion and employment of about 6,500 people across its various manufacturing locations and corporate offices.