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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowDecatur-based Porter Inc. has laid off another 62 workers, the latest round of cost-cutting for the troubled boat manufacturer.
The northeast Indiana company has laid off 225 workers in the last 90 days. And since 2007, the company has reduced its work force from a peak of 600 employees to about 130, plant manager Pat Laux said.
The latest round of layoffs occurred Friday. Those workers are expected to be off for at least six months, Laux said.
“People need houses and cars before they need boats, unfortunately,” Laux said.
Porter began making boats in 1958 and purchased the popular Thunderbird/Formula brands from Fuqua in 1976.
By 1988, both were being produced in Decatur at the 345,000-square-foot Porter plant, which was expanded by 143,500 square feet in 2000. An 85,000-square-foot addition followed in 2006, but boat sales have fallen dramatically in recent years.
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