Telecom plant will close in '08 Alcatel-Lucent to eliminate 230 manufacturing jobs

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/10/20/lucent.ART_ART_10-20-07_A1_MT881MK.html?sid=101

Saturday, October 20, 2007 3:38 AM
By Amy Saunders
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Alcatel-Lucent plans to close its Columbus manufacturing operation late next year, eliminating 230 jobs at the telecommunication-equipment company on the Far East Side.

The announcement, made to employees at the E. Broad Street plant yesterday, comes almost a year after French company Alcatel completed its purchase of Lucent Technologies.

At the time of the deal, the companies said that 8,880 workers, or 10 percent of the combined work force, would be cut over the next three years.

"Both of these were companies that had manufacturing around the world," Alcatel-Lucent spokeswoman Mary Ward said. "When we merged, it was almost to be expected that we would have more manufacturing capacity than we needed."

Production from the Columbus plant may be relocated to Alcatel-Lucent facilities in China and Longview, Texas, or moved to an outside source, Ward said.

FULL story at link.

A slow decline

Key events in the history of Alcatel-Lucent's operations in Columbus.

1957: Western Electric, an AT&T division, opens the Columbus Works.

1959: Bell Laboratories R&D moves in. Total employment reaches 3,100.

Mid-1970s: Manufacturing employment peaks at 12,000.

1996: AT&T spins off Lucent Technologies, including Columbus Works.

2000: Production changes worry workers. Employment totals about 5,500.

2001: Severance packages offered to 600 workers as Celestica Inc. takes over Lucent's Columbus Works.

2002: Lucent buys Columbus Works back from Celestica.

2003: Lucent tries to sell the Columbus Works. Employment falls to 1,470, mostly in research and development.

2006: Lucent Technologies' purchase by French company Alcatel is completed. Employment stands at 1,200.

Yesterday: Alcatel-Lucent announces manufacturing will cease in 2008, costing 230 jobs. Employment at Columbus Works expected to fall to about 870.

Source: Dispatch research

of workers...If I'm reading this correctly, lay offs occured slightly after this administration took office. But Why?