"It is a large loss, and its impact will be felt" throughout the county, said Dennis Heling, executive director of the Jefferson County Economic Development Corp.
The closings will have a ripple effect on Briggs' suppliers and dozens of area businesses supported by the employees' paychecks.
There's also going to be a loss in corporate sponsorships, since Briggs and its employees support local charities, parks and schools.
"When we had a flood, Briggs opened its doors so that we could get the pumps and generators we needed. They have been a very good corporate citizen, and that makes these closings all the more sad," said Jefferson Mayor Gary Myers.
As recently as last fall, the Jefferson plant was busy making portable generators after Gulf Coast storms knocked out electricity for millions of people.
The dismal economy, however, has taken a toll on the sale of outdoor power equipment.
In April, Briggs cut its quarterly dividend in half, to 11 cents a share, to preserve cash.
Last fall, the company also closed its Simplicity products factory in Port Washington, resulting in the loss of hundreds of jobs.
Reacting to Wednesday's announcement, Gov. Jim Doyle said: "This is the worst part of the economic downturn that we've seen. We often talk about unemployment in terms of a percentage, and what's often forgotten is that percentages are real people and aren't people that did anything wrong. They didn't deal derivatives on Wall Street, they didn't manipulate financial markets, they didn't hyper-inflate the real estate market, They just went to work every day."
Gone for good
Briggs said its plants in Georgia and New York could easily be expanded, and that it made sense to produce generators and generator engines in the same Alabama factory.
The Jefferson and Watertown closings will create a minimal number of additional jobs in Wauwatosa, where Briggs has its headquarters, and will boost employment significantly at the plants in Alabama and Georgia.
Local officials can no longer count on traditional manufacturers to supply hundreds of jobs, said Mark Johnsrud, Johnson Creek village administrator.
"Chances are that we are never going to get these types of jobs back, even in an expansion period. We have to start thinking outside of the box if we are going to find opportunities to replace these jobs," Johnsrud said.
Outside of the United States, Briggs has benefited from low-cost manufacturing plants it opened in the Czech Republic and China. The Czech plants serve Briggs' European market, including fast-growing eastern European countries.
In 2007, Briggs closed its engine plant in Rolla, Mo., and shifted half of that plant's production to a plant it opened in China. But the company has resisted the temptation to move all of its manufacturing overseas because the U.S. plants can build an engine with 30 minutes of labor, making them very efficient.
Having plants in the U.S. also gives Briggs a competitive advantage in being able to respond to U.S. hurricanes, snowstorms and other power-related emergencies.
As a result of the plant closings, Briggs will take a pretax charge of $5.8 million in its fiscal fourth quarter, including a $1.2 million employee severance and pension charge. The Jefferson and Watertown closings are expected to result in $11 million in annual pretax savings, or 15 cents a share, starting in fiscal 2011, said Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst Craig Kennison.
"But we see no impact" to the company's earnings per share in 2009 or 2010, Kennison said.
After Wednesday's announcement, Briggs shares closed at $13.50, up 16 cents.
Stacy Forster of the Journal Sentinel's Madison bureau contributed to this report.
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