Coherent Lays Off 144

According to documents filed with California’s Employment Development Department, Coherent Inc. laid off 144 employees at its manufacturing operation in Auburn on Aug. 23, 2008.

Coherent, a major manufacturer of lasers and optics for the commercial and scientific research markets, has been one of the community’s largest private employers and a major property owner in Auburn.

According to the Sacramento Business Journal, Dave Snyder, economic development director for Placer County, said the company will close the facility by the end of the year, but some employees could remain through March 2009.

Coherent has been aggressively cutting payroll and its local real estate holdings for the past few years. At one time the facility housed nearly 800 employees at the Auburn campus.

In October, Coherent sold the 265,000-sq-ft campus for almost $10 million to The Abbey Co., a real estate investment company in Long Beach. In 2000, it was reported that Coherent spent almost $10 million to build the fourth building on the Auburn campus, an 80,000-sq-ft facility.

The campus is currently being marketed for lease or purchase.

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