Briggs and Stratton to cut 250 jobs in its operations.

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MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee’s Briggs-and-Stratton says it will cut 250 employees in its global operations – because its lawn-and-garden small engine business will not return to what it once was.

Briggs said today it would cut its salaried workforce by 10-percent this year. Also, Briggs’ production of horizontal shaft engines will move from Auburn, Alabama to its plant in Chongoing, China. And part of the work will be outsourced at a third-party plant in Southeast Asia. The company said the total employment reductions would continue into 2013.

In addition, Briggs-and-Stratton said it would stop seeking placements of lawn-and-garden equipment in large retail outlets. Instead, it would rely on wholesale customers like John Deere to sell the equipment. Briggs said it expected its lawn-and-garden business to improve in the U.S. – but long-term projections for the U.S and Europe do not show a return to the robust business levels of 2004-and-’05, before the recession.

The company reported a smaller net income for its last quarter – just under $40-million-dollars, down from $51-million at the same time a year ago.

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