3M Precision Optics will cut 188 jobs starting Feb. 3 at its Cinc...
3M Precision Optics will cut 188 jobs starting Feb. 3 at its Cincinnati, O., facility as it transfers CRT lens production to a new plant in China, a spokeswoman confirmed. An initial 55 production workers will be laid off…
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Feb. 3, with 48 and 45 employees following March 1 and May 1, respectively, the spokeswoman said. Another 37-40 salaried positions will be trimmed by mid-year as the overall workforce shrinks to 240 from 425, the spokeswoman said. 3M operations in Cincinnati will move into one building from 3 as the emphasis shifts to R&D for microdisplay products from lenses for CRT-based rear projection TVs. 3M earlier this fall announced job cuts, but not plans for the factory (CED Nov 1 p2). Meanwhile, 3M said it plans to build an LCD optical film production plant in Wroclaw, Poland, to bring production closer to customers that include LG.Philips LCD. The latter recently announced plans for a back-end LCD module assembly factory in Wroclaw, with production starting first half 2007 (CED Sept 7 p5). 3M, now acquiring land for the plant, hasn’t decided when to open the facility, a spokeswoman said. “We don’t have a lot of details yet, but we are committed to opening” a plant in Poland, the spokeswoman said. Among details unavailable at our deadline Fri. were how much 3M will invest and how large the factory will be. The plant is designed to serve customers for the European market. 3M has brightness enhancement film plants in Menomonie, Wis., and Decatur, Ala., and conversion facilities in Kansai, Japan; Suzhou, China; Tainan, Taiwan; and Hwaseong and Naju, S. Korea.