Seaswirl Boats Inc., the largest employer in Culver, is leaving Central Oregon after more than 30 years in the region.

The company, which has been in Culver since 1972 and employs 170 people, will fold its local manufacturing facility gradually over the next two months, officials said Tuesday from Minneapolis-based Genmar Holdings Inc., Seaswirl’s parent company.

The news, combined with 140 layoffs earlier this month at another major Jefferson County employer, Madras-based Bright Wood Corp., will mean the loss of 310 jobs among the Madras and Culver communities.

Roger Cloutier, president and chief operating officer of Genmar, said construction of Seaswirl’s boats will shift to Little Falls, Minn., where several of Genmar’s 13 brands of watercraft are made.

Many of those employed by Seaswirl in Culver will not be retained, Cloutier said.

”Some positions will be available (in Little Falls or elsewhere with Genmar),” he said. ”But quite a few people will not make the move.”

Officials at Seaswirl’s Culver facility declined to comment Tuesday.

Seaswirl produces 18- to 26-foot saltwater fishing boats in Culver.

Genmar acquired Seaswirl in 2001 from Outboard Marine Corp., which filed for bankruptcy in 2000. In November, the Culver-based company cut nine jobs and moved production of larger boats to Sarasota, Fla.

At the time, officials told The Bulletin they still hoped to expand Seaswirl in Culver in the long term. But Cloutier said Tuesday that Genmar’s management team felt it could produce Seaswirl boats more cost-effectively by moving operations to Minnesota.

”(Seaswirl) has done a very good job,” he said. ”But we believe, from a logistics and manufacturing point of view, that this (consolidation) allows us to better leverage Genmar’s strength in terms of manufacturing. We believe this move is better in the long run for both customers and the (Seaswirl) organization.”

Cloutier declined to comment on whether Seaswirl employees will be offered severance packages.

Local officials are disappointed with Genmar’s move.

”Anytime you have a company that has been an icon in the community, it’s definitely going to leave a mark,” said Culver Mayor Daniel Harnden, who was laid off by Seaswirl in November after working there for 26 years. ”It’s been there for many years, and all of a sudden, it’s gone. But we’ll move forward.”

Harnden said the move also will be felt on Culver’s and Jefferson County’s balance sheets, as Seaswirl makes up a significant portion of both administrations’ tax bases. Officials are still calculating the financial impact of Seaswirl’s move, he said.

Seaswirl’s announcement comes on the heels of the cuts earlier this month at wood product remanufacturer Bright Wood – one of the largest employers in the region – due to a slowing national home construction market.

One local company, Culver-based bottled-water distributor Earth20, said there are job opportunities in the region that may be available for those left behind by Seaswirl.

”I think we may be interested in interviewing some of (Seaswirl’s) employees,” said Steve Emery, president of Earth20. ”We’re close to reaching the busiest time of the year. (But) it’s definitely a sad chain of events for the city. It’s a large loss of good, living-wage jobs.”

Harnden is less optimistic about his city’s ability to absorb Seaswirl workers.

”I doubt it,” he said when asked if Culver can find new jobs for Seaswirl’s employees. ”With Bright Wood just laying off 140 people, this just adds to that. I survey the job market here every day, and there are some jobs out there. But they’re not living-wage jobs, and there are not a whole lot of them. So it’s going to be difficult for a lot of people to find work.”