Harley-Davidson Inc. is expected to announce its decision about whether to relocate its York plant between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31, CEO Keith Wandell said in a conference call.

The company released its third-quarter financial results Thursday morning, saying it will discontinue its Buell product line and divest its MV Agusta unit.

As a result, the company will lay off about 80 hourly production workers and about 100 salaried workers at Buell, with most positions being terminated by Dec. 18, the company said.

There were no new layoffs announced for the Springettsbury Township plant, where production cuts have reduced the workforce by hundreds over the past year. Company spokesman Bob Klein said the Buell discontinuation won't affect York.

Harley also reported it has begun contract talks with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 175, which represents Harley workers in York.

The company said it continues to research whether to relocate the plant. Executives have said the York facility, which employs more than 2,000 people, is inefficient and might be relocated to another state.

Impact of economy: Third-quarter net income fell by 84.1 percent to $26.5 million, compared to $166.5 million in the third quarter of 2008. Revenue was $1.12 billion, compared to $1.42 billion for the year-ago period.

Diluted earnings per share fell 84.5 percent, 11 cents for the third quarter, compared to 71 cents for the same period of

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2008.

The results reflect lower motorcycle shipments and the current economy's effect on retail and wholesale loan performance, the company said.

For the first nine months of the year, the company reported net income of $163.6 million, down 71.6 percent. It also announced nine-month diluted earnings per share of 70 cents, down 71.4 percent from last year.

Revenue for the first nine months of the year was $3.57 billion, a decrease of 17.1 percent from last year.

Worldwide retail sales of new Harleys fell 21.3 percent for the third quarter, compared to the same period of last year.

That is, however, an improvement over the second quarter, during which sales declined 30.1 percent.

Loss in financial arm: Harley-Davidson Financial Services, the company's financing arm, recorded an operating loss of $31.5 million for the third quarter, compared to a profit of $35.6 million for the same period of 2008.

The $67.2 million decrease was due to a higher credit losses in both the retail and wholesale portfolios and increased interest expense.

The company said it still expects full-year gross margins to be between 30.5 percent and 31.5 percent.

The company now expects to ship between 222,000 to 227,000 motorcycles this year. It previously announced it would ship between 212,000 and 228,000 bikes to dealers.

Between 35,000 to 40,000 bikes are expected to be shipped in the fourth quarter.

Remaining inventories of Buell motorcycles, accessories and apparel will be sold until they are gone, the company said, and Italy-based MV Agusta will be sold as soon as possible.