EVERETT – Intermec Technologies Corp. is trimming a few dozen positions, including some at its local headquarters, the company confirmed Wednesday.
But the action isn’t a sign of slow business, spokeswoman Kathie Jackson Anderson said. In the most recent quarter, the Everett-based company reported that revenue was up 16 percent, to nearly $195 million, over the same period of 2003.
“We are doing, as we typically do during the normal course of business, some realignments,” Anderson said, adding that severance packages are usually given to laid-off employees. “We are realigning and bringing in the skills we need to grow.”
That means in addition to the layoffs – expected to number fewer than 50 people – in some areas, the company plans to hire new employees with other specialty skills, she said.
Intermec makes mobile computing, wireless and inventory tracking products, including radio frequency identification tags. It has a total worldwide work force of about 2,700, including about 700 employees in Everett.
The company’s parent, Unova Inc., employs nearly 4,800 people. Also based in Everett, Unova is one of the two largest public companies based in Snohomish County.
The last major reported reduction in Intermec’s work force came in late 2001, when the slow economy was to blame.
By contrast, Unova’s industrial machinery division, which was restructured last year, saw more than 1,000 jobs cut in 2002 and 2003. Since then, the industrial division has returned to profitability.
With a stabilizing economy, layoffs by the county’s high-tech firms have become less common. Between now and spring, however, Plexus Corp. and Philips Medical Systems plan to lay off up to 300 workers at their respective offices in Bothell.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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