UPDATE 4-Harley profit tumbles; plans closures, layoffs

* Q4 net down 58 percent

* Will close facilities, fire 1,100 workers

* Shares fall to 11-year low

(Adds more analyst and executive comment, byline, and updates shares)

By James B. Kelleher

CHICAGO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Harley-Davidson Inc (HOG.N) said on Friday it will slash more than 12 percent of its workforce and close several plants as it struggles with a global pullback in demand for its motorcycles.

News of the layoffs and restructuring came as Harley reported a sharper-than-expected contraction in its fourth-quarter profit. The results, which were pulled down by a big loss at Harley's in-house finance unit, hammered its already battered shares, sending them to their lowest level in more than 10 years.

Harley said it was taking several actions to cut costs, including plant closures that would result in the elimination of 1,100 jobs over the next two years. The company employed about 9,000 workers at the start of this year, according to its most recent annual report.

This was Harley's second round of job cuts in the last nine months. In April, the company said it was laying off over 700 workers in response to a slump which, at that point, was largely confined to the United States.

But as that U.S. downturn spread globally, so, too, did Harley's problems.

In the most recent quarter, Harley said its net income fell 58 percent to $77.8 million, or 34 cents a share, from $186.1 million, or 78 cents a share, a year earlier.

That was well below the 57 cent a share profit analysts had expected it to report, according to Reuters Estimates.

Worldwide retail sales of Harley motorcycles fell 13.1 percent during the quarter, pulled down by a 19.6 percent drop in the U.S. But sales also fell in once-robust overseas markets, including Latin America, which saw a 28 percent decrease.

In response to the slowdown, Harley said it would slash its motorcycle production in 2009 by as much as 13 percent.

"We reduced our production levels prudently in 2008, helping our dealers achieve lower inventory levels," Jim Ziemer, the soon-to-retire chief executive, said in a statement, "and we're going to show similar discipline in 2009."

But Ed Aaron, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets wasn't sure. "It's not clear to us that this cut will be sufficient," he said.