Winnebago Cuts Jobs

CHICAGO Jan 24, 2008; James B. Kelleher writing for Reuters reported that Winnebago Industries Inc, the No. 1 maker of motor homes, said on Thursday that layoffs were underway at its Forest City, Iowa plant, which makes about 90 percent of its products and employs about 3,300 workers.

A company spokeswoman told Reuters the company was "discouraged" by the retail trends in the motor home marketplace, which she said had been down "pretty severely" since late summer.

Winnebago did not say how many workers would be affected by the layoff, the first at the company since the fall of 2006, when Winnebago cut 170 workers. The spokeswoman characterized the 2006 layoff as "small."

Editing by Richard Chang