Closing, furloughs hit famous bat factory

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The company that makes Louisville Slugger wood baseball bats has closed its factory, furloughed 90 percent of its employees and shut its popular museum.

Hillerich & Bradsby Co. says it has continued to cover all health-care benefits for its 171 furloughed workers. The remaining 10% of employees have taken 25% pay cuts.

The factory closed on March 19, three days after the Louisville Slugger Museum shut. The 120-foot bat outside its headquarters now has a banner across the barrel reading “Flatten the Curve.”

H&B CEO John Hillerich IV told The Louisville Courier Journal that if the company doesn’t soon crank up its Pennsylvania mill, some of the set-to-become bats might spoil.