FOND DU LAC, Wis. — Mercury Marine, one of the largest employers in the Fox Valley area, announced it has plans to eliminate about 300 jobs from its Fond du Lac headquarters.

Mercury Marine said the “reduction” will take place now through July.

Mercury Marine — which makes boat motors and other boating products — employs more than 3,500 people full-time in Fond du Lac. The company said it makes an annual economic impact of about $5 billion to the community.

"They're a longstanding pillar and they'll continue to be so," said Sadie Howell, the president and CEO of Envision Greater Fond du Lac. "They're in a market that's subject to a lot of trends and economic trends, and right now the macro-economic conditions aren't ideal for some of these recreational purchases."

Howell said the community is set to do its best to support those laid off and hopefully help them find a new job as quickly as possible.

"We've helped with organizations before and helped those employees find new jobs," Howell said. "We'll continue to do the same thing and we would welcome any of them to reach out to us — there are still plenty of other manufacturers and industries in Fond du Lac County that would be happy to welcome them into their doors."

Mercury Marine said the reduction is “due to a softening of consumer demand in some of our markets.” The company said the lower demands are tied to “continued high interest rates and near-term reductions in boat production” by its boat building partners.

“Mercury Marine’s industry-leading products continue to gain market share around the world but at this time this is not sufficient to fully offset the overall market headwinds,” the company wrote in a statement, in-part. 

Mercury Marine also said it will adjust its overall operations in Wisconsin, as well as in Florida and Mexico.