RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
NPR's business news starts with downshifting at Harley-Davidson.
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MONTAGNE:
The American motorcycle maker is going over some rough road. Today, the company said its sales in 2008 tumbled, and it expects 2009 to be another tough year. So Harley-Davidson is cutting 1,100 jobs, about 12 percent of its total workforce. The cuts will take place over the next two years. Harley-Davidson says U.S. sales dropped more than 10 percent last year, though overseas sales are up. Still, the vast majority of Harley-Davidsons are sold here in the U.S. The company also plans to close a factory in Wisconsin and consolidate plants as it brings down production.