Bobcat Co. is not permanently increasing its employment levels at its Gwinner plant, the company says.

Recent rehires are in response to attrition or to the need for a temporary summer workforce, the company said in a statement released Tuesday.

According to the statement, the company has no plans to permanently rehire employees who were involuntarily released earlier in the year, and is satisfied with its level of employment in the Gwinner plant.

The plant currently employs 921 people.

Tom Ricker, president of the United Steelworkers Local 560 in Gwinner, said 78 workers had been involuntarily laid off, and 63 took voluntary severance packages.

Most of the 78 who were involuntarily released from the Gwinner plant were back at work by May 1, said Todd Woodward with Gwinner labor relations on Monday, although it is unclear how many returned due to attrition, and how many returned temporarily.

But the company clarified that there was no increase in permanent employee levels, according to the statement.

"Bobcat remains satisfied with its current staffing level in Gwinner although several hires have and will continue to occur due to normal attrition. In addition, the company has issued temporary employment recalls related to normal vacation replacement requirements at the facility, but these do not represent a permanent adjustment in the plant's ongoing employment level," the statement said.

The plant in Bismarck didn't have any involuntary layoffs, said human resources manager Jim Flynn. About 25 people took voluntary severance at the end of January, he said. Bobcat in Bismarck is looking to hire about 70 temporary workers for the summer.

Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd. is the parent company of Fargo-based Bobcat, known for its skid-steer loaders.

(Reach reporter Crystal R. Reid at 250-8261 or at crystal.reid@;bismarcktribune.com.)