MECURY Marine cuts 22 Stillwater positions

Thursday, July 26th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ Twenty-two jobs at Mercury Marine's Stillwater manufacturing site are being eliminated as part of a nationwide effort to reduce the company's workforce by 166 people.

The cuts in Stillwater will involve salaried professionals, according to Creed Jones, director of human resources at the Stillwater plant.

``We have no plans to reduce our production workforce or have any type of production layoff,'' Jones said Tuesday.

The workforce reduction follows Mercury's reorganization and will position the company to better perform amid weakened demand for recreational boats and engines in the United States, company officials said.

Production rates for outboards built in Fond du Lac, Wis., and sterndrives built in Stillwater have been reduced. The reduction will affect 100 Fond du Lac production employees and 66 professional and administrative workers at several U.S. locations, including Stillwater.

In a prepared statement, Mercury President Pat Mackey said the company has reorganized ``to a customer-based structure to be more responsive to the needs and desires of our customers.''

``This restructuring, along with the continuing slowness in a marine industry that is finishing a rather lackluster selling season in the U.S., has made it necessary for us to adjust our production rates and our staffing levels accordingly,'' Mackey said.

Mackey said workers affected by the job cuts are eligible for severance and job placement assistance.

Mercury Marine is a division of Brunswick Corp., headquartered in Lake Forest, Ill. It is a global marketer and manufacturer of consumer brands in pleasure boating, marine engines, fitness equipment, bowling and billiards.