Glenayre Technologies Inc. released more details of its worldwide restructuring plan last week, saying the effort will result in a 20-percent work force reduction and expected annualized operating cost savings of up to $20 million.
According to Eric Doggett,
Glenayre president and chief executive officer, most of the layoffs-about 200 positions-will take place at Glenayre’s Vancouver manufacturing plant as all production activities are moved to its Quincy, Ill., factory or outsourced elsewhere. The Vancouver facility will remain a research and development site, retaining about 350 employees.
“It was a tough decision,” Doggett said in a conference call detailing the restructuring. “But we’re in the process of reinventing our company … These changes reflect what we’re doing to get the organization moving forward.”
Glenayre’s Charlotte, N.C., offices also will be shut down, but exact details related to their closure have not been completed.
The various restructuring changes are expected to result in a third-quarter earnings charge of $11 million to $13 million, but also annualized savings of $20 million on projected 2000 operating costs.
Glenayre previously had considered selling the Quincy manufacturing plant to Solectron Inc., but the deal fell through. Doggett said the sale failed because Glenayre’s manufacturing operations were too spread out over many locations. The restructuring effort will consolidate all manufacturing in Quincy and may result in yet another attempt to sell the facility. Glenayre then may outsource all manufacturing activities.
Doggett said there are no immediate plans to sell the Quincy plant. He said it will be at least a year before the company would pursue that option again, if at all.
While Glenayre is looking to sell its Charlotte facility, it also continues to seek a buyer for its Western Multiplex microwave unit. Doggett said the company will give an update on that effort, as well as an update on its talks with Motorola Inc., during its third-quarter earnings report.
