Monaco Coach slashes 600 jobs

Monaco Coach Corp. on Friday announced it is cutting 600 jobs -- about 12 percent of its work force -- just three days after reporting an unexpected first quarter loss.

Monaco (NYSE: MNC), a manufacturer of high-end recreational vehicles based in Coburg, will cut 300 jobs in Oregon and another 300 from its facility in Wakarusa, Ind., said Craig Wanichek, Monaco's director of investor relations. About half of the positions are administrative, with the rest coming from production, he said.

The company has been hurt by a drop in consumer confidence and a challenging lending environment, Wanichek said. The market for new recreational vehicles will continue to be weak, he said.

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"Our production levels were a little bit high compared to where the market has been and where the market is going," he said.

On Wednesday, Monaco posted an unexpected first-quarter loss of 28 cents per share and predicted further losses in the second quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected profits of 2 cents per share.

The company reported first quarter sales of $252.4 million, a 22 percent decline from the first quarter of 2007.

The company's stock plummeted following the quarterly report, reaching new 52-week lows on both Wednesday and Thursday, bottoming out at $6.46 per share before settling both days.

Shares fell 24 cents to $6.53 per share Friday afternoon, but had traded as low as $6.48 per share earlier in the day.

Wanichek said the company's market share rose 8.5 percent during the quarter. But that rise came at a time when the overall market for RVs dropped about 20 percent, he said.