On Thursday morning, word leaked out from Roseau that 110 Polaris workers had been laid off in the plant there, but later last night the company announced that the cuts were wider: 160 full-timers and 300 contractors, part-time and temporary workers were being let go.

The company said it is "adjusting and realigning its production resources and capacity in response to the weakening retail demand environment."

The cuts are spread across all product lines and multiple facilities worldwide, the company said. The salaried and hourly full-time reduction represents about 5 percent of the current Polaris employee base.

“It is certainly not unexpected that the difficult business environment and uncertain economic situation are having an impact on our business, as well as the businesses of our dealers and suppliers,” said Scott Wine, Polaris CEO. “While this is a challenging time for our business and employees, these changes are necessary in light of the external environment and will better enable us to remain competitive in the future.””

The company's fourth-quarter and full-year 2008 results, along with an outlook for 2009, will be released Jan. 29.

Polaris had 2007 sales of $1.8 billion. It designs, engineers, manufactures and markets all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), including the Polaris RANGER™, snowmobiles and Victory motorcycles for recreational and utility use.

The company was busy Thursday, also announcing a 3 percent increase in the regular quarterly cash dividend. The first quarter dividend of $0.39 will be payable on Feb. 17 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Feb. 3.

Scott Wine, Polaris’ CEO, commented, “We remain proud of our 14-year history of increasing dividend payments as it reflects the strength of our cash flows, the health of our balance sheet, and our confidence in the long-term growth prospects for the company despite the current challenging global economic environment. Dividends are one of the important ways we can continue to deliver value to our shareholders.””