A member of the board of directors at Harley-Davidson has stepped down citing serious concerns about the company's current situation in a letter to the board. This caused a sharp drop of approximately 11% in the company's shares during morning trading on Thursday.

The director, Jared Dourdeville, representing the second-largest shareholder H Partners, mentioned in the letter that Harley had been negatively impacted by a loss of experienced leaders and the implementation of remote work policies, leading to what he termed as a "cultural depletion." He also urged the departure of CEO Jochen Zeitz and two other board members.

Harley responded by revealing that Dourdeville opposed the board’s decision not to extend an offer to his preferred CEO candidate and resigned prior to a planned meeting to discuss his requests. Dourdeville has not yet commented on the issue.

Recently, Harley announced that Zeitz plans to retire in 2025, staying on until a successor is appointed. The company has faced challenges attracting younger riders as its older customer base, the baby boomers, is aging. To boost profitability, Harley has updated its 2025 lineup with higher-margin Touring bikes and a focus on custom-vehicle operations for wealthier clients.