Ducati italy bosses take voluntary pay cut
 

Ducati’s Italian managers have taken a 10 percent pay cut and given up their future bonuses, Reuters reports. Ducati says the decision was voluntary.

The news agency notes that the latest Italian figures show a 38.8 percent drop in new-motorcycle sales in January. (In comparison, MIC reports indicate that U.S. motorcycle retail sales — excluding nonreporting brands — dropped 32 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008.)

Ducati reportedly did not publish its own sales figures, but it did state that its share of the Italian market rose to 12.5 percent from 11.2 percent.

Like here at home, Italy has its own stimulus package in the works. Reuters reports: “Ducati has joined calls by Italian manufacturers for their government to help through the crisis by stimulating sales. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s cabinet is expected to announce a package of incentives to encourage consumers to scrap their old cars, motorcycles and home appliances and buy new, more ecological ones.”

Industry analyst Don Brown estimates that Ducati retailed 8,580 motorcycles in the U.S. last year, a decline of nearly 5 percent compared to the year before. Ducati seems to parallel broader market performance. The MIC estimates that overall U.S. streetbike retail sales (excluding scooters and dual-sports) fell 5.6 percent in 2008.

Ducati’s financial numbers have been harder to obtain since the manufacturer’s stock was delisted from the Milan exchange after being bought out in December by the Bonomi family using an investment vehicle.