Ferrari denies trouble despite layoffs this week
This may come as a surprise, but Ferrari is apparently mortal. Although it has denied being affected by the global economic crisis, the Italian supercar maker has announced plans to lay off up to 10 percent of its workforce this week. This comes on the heels of announcing in November that sales had dropped from around 600 units per month to a miniscule 92 sales worldwide. As many as 300 workers could be idled after negotiations with Italy's trade unions. So much for thinking it might be recession-proof.For now the Maranello company has announced an unprecedented 20-day holiday shutdown this year to ward off huge stockpiles of parts and inventory. Even with the new California launching and the recently announced Scuderia Spider 16M on the way, and despite a two-year waiting list for its product globally, distributors around the world are apparently sitting on too much inventory. Sales of the V12 models have reportedly stalled and F430 sales have slowed to a trickle since the California was announced.
We now seriously doubt the company will be able to reach its goal of 10,000 sales by 2010, which Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo had been promising as recently as the Paris Motor Show back in October. For its part, Ferrari is saying that this is traditionally a slow time of year, that F430 sales were naturally affected by the announcement of the 16M and California, and that the extended holiday break has more to do with the calendar than the economy. We simply like the thought that this might one day mean lower prices for Enzo's finest. Thanks for the tip, Richard!
UPDATE: Ferrari contacted us to clarify some info that Autocar had previously reported. The Italian automaker wants to reiterate that is always focused on controlling costs, but that it never stated it is cutting 300 jobs. The Christmas Holiday is slightly longer only to bridge an extra weekend, as Christmas is on a Thursday this year. F430 sales are also where they're expected to be, although Spider sales are always slow in winter. 2008, like 2007, has been a good year for the firm and it is not experiencing any stock problems. The world financial crisis has mainly just streamlined the waiting list. We hope that clears things up. Now, can we expect a 16M under the tree?
Gallery: First Drive: Ferrari California
[Source: Autocar]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Alex 2:36PM (12/08/2008)
No one is recession proof. Ferrari isn't near closing up shop or anything of the sort, but in the middle of a global financial slowdown everyone gets pinched. People who *just* made it into the Ferrari tax bracket are now below it. The company will still have its loyal following and its merchandise will still be tossed under christmas trees worldwide.
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zamafir 2:39PM (12/08/2008)
Yay bring on more ugly cheap ferraris like the Cali, diluting the brand should fix things for sure.
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why not the LS2LS7? 2:38PM (12/08/2008)
Well, now we know for sure the 2 year waiting list is a marketing gimmick. Not that there was much doubt before.
Clearly they'd rather shut down and preserve the "2-year wait" than catch up.
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Matt Bateman 2:51PM (12/08/2008)
I was thinking the same thing.
How do you simultaneously have a two-year waiting list AND extra inventory, especially when a company has such a limited and focused model range? This isn't comparable to Toyota have extra top of the line loaded Tundras while trying to manage stock levels of Prius and Yaris.
happy_penguin 4:10PM (12/08/2008)
Hmmm, fabricated value. Clearly Ferrari are overpriced. ;)
Richard 2:44PM (12/08/2008)
Ferrari laying off!
The end of the world is truly upon us!
What next?
Angelina Jolie is really a man?
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david 2:48PM (12/08/2008)
No, Bawwney Fwank got a girlfriend.
Richard 3:42PM (12/08/2008)
LOL!
V'y Nice!
Richard 3:48PM (12/08/2008)
You do weawize that if Bawwney DID get a giwrlfriend AND Angewina Jowie did tuwrn out to be a man, that WOUWD mean the end of duw wowrld!
Down't you?
happy_penguin 4:11PM (12/08/2008)
Angelina Jolie is Barney Frank's boyfriend.
dc11 2:49PM (12/08/2008)
whats the point... theyre going to save a ton of money by exiting F1 anyway =)
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Jason 2:52PM (12/08/2008)
Just because she is the highest paid actress does not make her a man!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7769934.stm
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Abe 2:57PM (12/08/2008)
Ferrari was a very troubled automaker in the early 90s, they have no right to brag about their so-called superiority to everyone else. They can just as easily face tough times as anyone else. At the end of the day, if they did not have Fiat's support and access to their financial resources, they would have gone bankrupt and possibly shut down long ago.
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Soccer Mom 3:01PM (12/08/2008)
Excess inventory and shortage at the dealerships. Do they have a bottleneck between dealer's lot and dealer's showroom?
Unlike other economic downturns, this one impacted rich as well as poor. We shouldn't be surprised to see Ferrari sales plunge - not too many people can make big bucks flipping houses now or selling mortgage-back securities.
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GeoSB8K 3:02PM (12/08/2008)
This really brings some enlightenment I think to the b.s. reports of 2 year Ferrari waiting lists. If that were true I would assume they could refocus efforts on the cars yet to be built for waiting customers. I was in Chicago for business a few months back and stopped by a Ferrari dealer and they had no less then 4 brand new 599s in the showroom, all of which were available. (Dealer was in Lake Forest, very nice folks!) So either Ferrari is making customers who special order wait a much longer time than needed or this whole waiting list for 2 years is a load of crap which I suspect it is. My only experience with special ordering was a Cayman S back in xmas of 05, and I received it mid April.
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David Wiles 3:08PM (12/08/2008)
Bad time to increase your model range wasn't it guys? Not only have you increased internal competition (which two seat drop top car do I want, or do I want a two seat coupe and will that be mid-engined or front engined, or how about that 2+2 or should I just say screw it and buy a Lambo or an Aston?) but there is I suspect a really hot market in late model used Ferrari's at the moment as well, no doubt many still in warranty.
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Den_in_IN 3:12PM (12/08/2008)
If they didn't rely on the sales of large pickups and SUVs so much this never would have happened!
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2008GTI 3:11PM (12/08/2008)
Look at the US's aircraft companies. Most or all of them have record backlogs, so ranging near the 10's of billions mark. All of them have announced or allready have laid off workers. Ferrari cutting production to maintain a certain level of production is nothing new to the business.
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nastinupe 3:24PM (12/08/2008)
This is what they get for making the California too damn expensive. had they made a $130,000 V6 Ferrari this wouldn't be happening.
I have been saying all along that the California should have been the Dino in terms of price and performance, instead, this thing is a front engined F car.
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torquemco 5:47PM (12/09/2008)
there is no way ANYONE would pay $130k for a V6 Ferrari.