One of the most avid members of the weekend tribe known as U.S. golfers tells us that Wilson Sporting Goods Co. makes some excellent products. But he admits to being older than 50 and liking traditional clubs–which probably sums up Wilson’s problems.
Jim Baugh, who became Wilson president a couple of weeks ago after heading tennis operations for 10 years, said the company won’t eliminate any categories of its golf line, but will drop unprofitable products. The Chicago company last week dismissed 85 employees in the corporate group and golf divisions.
The firings were concentrated in Chicago, where 1 of every 7 Wilson employees was discharged.
The company has 3,000 employees worldwide, with 500 at its Chicago headquarters.
Baugh said the golf division has been losing money and he didn’t rule out further employment cuts; the company already had laid off 300 people before this bloodletting. He said that Wilson must serve the majority of players who are looking for game improvement, code words for clubs that will hit the ball a longer distance.
“So we’re looking for that big new technology,” he said.
