We know it's rough, but think back a few years to the height of the pandemic. If you were lucky enough to work from home, maybe you were even someone working at Harley-Davidson.
The Motor Company made that choice in March 2020, when it sent its office employees from the Juneau Avenue mothership in Milwaukee home and told them they could work there instead. And in an interview with Bloomberg in October 2022, CEO Jochen Zeitz mused that it was likely better for work-life balance, allowing those employees to both get work done and also spend time with their families.
After all, he was doing the same thing, so it made sense.
Even after things started opening up again, and many employees were back at the office, Harley maintained this policy. Working from home is great for workers, but it also meant a whole lot of space at Harley HQ was going mostly unused. Some parking lots are now being repurposed into a giant park/events space for use by both Harley and the local community, but what about the offices?
Well, LiveWire is moving back home to be with mom and dad.
On April 25, 2024, LiveWire released its 2024 Q1 financial results, and in it, CEO Karim Donnez said, “We are pleased with the successful launch of the S2 Mulholland, and with three bikes in market, we are proud that LiveWire is now the #1 on-road electric motorcycle retailer in the U.S. As part of our plans to expand our market leadership, our teams are working on design, engineering and sourcing initiatives to reduce the cost of our vehicles and manage spend across the business to get the most out of our strategic investments. We expect the consolidation of our operations in Milwaukee at Harley-Davidson’s historic headquarters at Juneau Avenue to bring synergies and efficiencies, as well as a closer connection to our heritage." Emphasis ours.
The company's California lab is based in Mountain View, and staff from that location will be moving to Juneau Avenue in the coming months, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.
A spokesperson for the MoCo added that this move will take place in the second half of the year, with further announcement about plans for the space to come in the near future.
While the company has experienced growing pains since being spun off via a SPAC merger in 2022, the 2024 Q1 quarterly report did have a glimmer of a silver lining.
Prior to this report, it estimated its annual losses for 2024 to be somewhere between $115 million and $125 million. But in the Q1 2024 report, it revised that estimate down to an estimated loss of $105 million to $115 million, representing a $10 million improvement. Baby steps are still steps in the right direction.
Maybe it's good to go home? LiveWire could definitely use the help.
