General Scanning Inc. in Watertown, Mass., will lay off 70 employees from its manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts and Caliornia, and from its sales and service work force, particularly in the Far East.
This 8 percent reduction in the work force comes after a 40 percent decline in sales to Asia and to the semiconductor industry from a peak in the fourth quarter of 1997 to the third quarter of 1998. Product lines most affected include memory repair, component handling and semiconductor package marking.
When asked if the merger between General Scanning and Lumonics Inc. of Kanata, Ontario, Canada (see "General Scanning and Lumonics Agree to Merge," p. 55), might create more layoffs, Victor Woolley, General Scanning vice president and chief financial officer, responded, "We haven't reached any conclusions." He added that it would be "well into January" before that is known. Woolley said the company hopes to achieve $10 million in savings from opportunities created by the merger.