Harley To Move More Motorcycle Production to Thailand, Union Isn't Happy

Harley-Davidson announced that it is moving production of its Revolution Max-powered motorcycles to Thailand on what it says is a temporary basis. It previously moved production for European-market and Asian-market motorcycles to Thailand in 2019, but continued to make bikes for the US market in America. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents Harley factory workers, strongly condemns this move and says it will fight to stop it.

Back in 2018, Harley-Davidson moved some motorcycle production to Thailand. At the same time, it was quick to clarify that bikes made there wouldn't be shipped back to the US for sale.

Instead, those bikes were meant for European and Asian markets, thanks at least in part to the ongoing tariffs tiff between the US and EU at that time. When this move was instituted, European tariffs on motorcycles manufactured in the US were a whopping 31 percent.

And incidentally, if you're wondering 'what about Indian?', that company was already manufacturing bikes for sale in Europe in its European plant long before the tariff wars kicked off. So Harley's chief competitor was largely unbothered by increased tariff threats.

But why are we talking about Harley's overseas production plans five years after the fact?

Because it seems that old tensions with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers are flaring up once more, as the IAM just issued a statement strongly condemning new Harley plans to move additional motorcycle production to its Thai facility. More specifically, it called out plans by the Motor Company for this latest batch of bikes to be shipped to the US as 2025 models.

Which specific bikes are we talking about?
We reached out to Harley to ask, and a Motor Company spokesperson told RideApart:

"Harley-Davidson is proud to design and develop all its iconic motorcycles in the USA. As a global company, Harley-Davidson also maintains an international manufacturing footprint, like many of its peers. As part of our overall manufacturing optimization strategy, Harley-Davidson is to temporarily transition the production of its non-core Revolution Max powertrain equipped models (Pan America, Sportster S, Nightster), to its existing manufacturing facility in Thailand, for model year '25."

They added, "This move optimizes production capacity for Grand American Touring and other core product segments such as Softail and Trike motorcycles at [our] York, PA facility. Additionally, building on the DOE Grant, as part of this move, we are investing an additional $9m into our US manufacturing facilities to focus and strengthen our US manufacturing capabilities and capacity for our core products.” 

It's interesting that Harley characterizes the DOE grant as helping to "focus and strengthen our US manufacturing capabilities and capacity for our core products" when the grant was mainly meant, according to the DOE, for EV motorcycle production (hello LiveWire).

What did the union say?
Announcement of this plan led IAM international union president Brian Bryant to issue a sternly worded response. He said,

"Harley-Davidson’s recent announcement to ship our work and jobs to Thailand is a kick in the teeth to American workers and a betrayal of the company’s legacy as an American icon. In 2019, nearly 600 IAM members at Harley-Davidson and Syncreon in Kansas City lost their jobs when the company shuttered its facility, claiming that its Thailand plant would only serve the Asian and European markets. Harley-Davidson has backtracked on that promise, planning to manufacture these bikes abroad and send them back to the U.S. for American consumers." 

Bryant's statement concluded, "The IAM will employ every resource at our disposal to fight this outrageous move. Harley-Davidson needs to return to the drawing board and develop a solution that keeps the production of the Sport Series and Pan America bikes where they belong—in the United States.” 

How are Harley employees feeling?
Local Milwaukee news station TMJ4 spoke to Harley workers at the Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin plant. Understandably, they did not wish to give their names or go on camera. 

Nevertheless, they expressed sentiments including being "pretty nervous" about what this could mean for their jobs in the future, as well as saying that "we can see the writing on the wall." 

Another worker reportedly told the station that, "we believe jobs are leaving but they don't want to say how many."

Taking it all in
For additional context, in January 2018, Harley announced plans to close its manufacturing facility that had been located in Kansas City, Missouri. At the time, the IAM decried the move, as it saw 572 union members lose their jobs. 

Jumping forward to 2024, a Harley representative told RideApart that "this does not have an impact on employment at U.S. facilities."

But from the IAM's statement, it's clear that the union views this most current action as part of a longer timeline, reaching back at least five years.

To the IAM, it's not only about today's announcement. On a much broader scale, it's about people's livelihoods. A company wants to make money, and a union (a good one, anyway) wants to protect its workers, so neither of these two statements should be particularly surprising.

It's true enough that in 2024, most motorcycle companies maintain a global footprint, to use Harley's language.

However, at the same time, it's also true that most other motorcycle companies haven't spent the majority of their lifetimes emphasizing how proud they are to be American, and cultivating the kind of fanbase that likes to shout that sentiment from the rooftops.

So unless you've lived in a bubble for the past century, absolutely none of how folks of various opinions are reacting to this news should come as a surprise.

Finally, has any company ever 'temporarily' relocated production overseas and then brought it back to where it originally started in the history of ever? I'm seriously asking, because I don't know of such an example, and strongly suspect that it doesn't exist.