News reports that Marquis Yachts in Pulaski, Wisc., may shut down indefinitely are incorrect, says a source close to the company.
WHBY.com reported that the builder of the Marquis, Carver and Lexus brands may shut down until a buyer is found. The news reports refer to a press release issued by the state saying that a workforce reduction of more than 300 employees is expected to take place on March 1, 2020 unless a sale is finalized by the end of February. A letter was written by Marquis officials in December saying it had to notify the state of Wisconsin about possible layoffs under the WARN and WBCML Acts, said the source.
The source said that the WARN letter and today’s press release from the state are not timely.
“They had a workforce adjustment in December, but they’re bringing people back next week,” said the source, requesting anonymity. “The company now has an order backlog for a year and has several buyers interested.” The source said the sale of the company is “very close.”
Carver-Marquis Yachts was owned by Irwin L. Jacobs, formerly chairman of Genmar, who died in a murder-suicide with his wife on April 10, 2019.
In January 2019, the company sold its Larson brands to Polaris.
Following Jacobs’ death, his boat businesses were placed in a trust under the control of Jacobs’ children, who opted to sell them and other unrelated businesses.
