Change is afoot at Christensen Shipyards, the Vancouver-based builder of custom yachts.
In a statement issued Wednesday through Mike Bomar, president of the Columbia River Economic Development Council, the company said its board is “currently working on a multipart ownership restructure” that should be wrapped up “in principle” by this weekend. The company said “operations should commence” the week of Dec. 8.
Details are few. The nature of the company’s restructuring is unclear. Likewise, it’s unclear what, if any, impacts the change may have on its employees. In a press release the company issued in February, which announced a $36 million contract for the construction of a 164-foot custom yacht, the company said it employed 380 full-time people.
The company declined to comment on questions about the restructuring, whether it has temporarily shuttered operations and about the potential impacts to its workforce.
In an email to The Columbian, Bomar said Christensen “is postponing further comment until early next week.” Christensen is an investor in the Columbia River Economic Development Council, the nonprofit business recruiter and jobs promoter. And Joe Foggia, CEO of Christensen, serves on the development council’s board.
The company has more than 180,000 square feet of manufacturing space and a 7-acre marina, according to the press release it issued in February. The company was incorporated in July 1985 by founder Dave Christensen, who retired in 2009.
