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Bobcat, based in West Fargo, said it employs approximately 1,070 hourly workers at its Gwinner plant and 765 hourly workers at its Bismarck plant.

"The company made the request in an attempt to align its workforce to correspond with lower market demand," Bobcat’s statement said. "The workforce reduction is a difficult but necessary step to ensure the company’s ongoing competitiveness."

The plants in Bismarck and Gwinner make machinery for light construction. Bobcat employs more than 2,600 people in North Dakota.

The company has said its revenues dropped by more than 20 percent last year compared to 2005, due to a decline in North American markets and a drop in shipments to distributors.

Union workers at the Bismarck plant agreed to a new four-year contract in October, after a two-week strike in a dispute over wages and health care costs. Union workers in Gwinner approved a new four-year contract last month without a strike.