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The Layoff Bug Is Infecting Regional Technology Industry

State employment officials are bracing for layoffs from several high tech employers in the San Diego area.

Intuit Inc., which is headquartered in Mountain View, is laying off 62 employees at its Torrey Santa Road facility in a companywide effort to streamline 7 percent of its work force, or 575 positions.

Intuit, which makes software for filing state and federal tax returns, told shareholders the action would cost $22 million in restructuring expenses.

The move is part of a yearlong effort among many high tech companies to cut costs in the worst downturn in a decade.

SAIC Inc., a defense contractor that also helps companies reduce energy consumption, is planning to lay off 89 employees at its Campus Point Drive headquarters in San Diego on Nov. 1, according to the state Employment Development Department.

By state law, employers must warn employees and state and local officials of large-scale layoffs of 75 or more employees 60 days prior to action.

Employment officials have likewise received notice of 30 employee layoffs from ATK Space Systems Inc. to start Oct. 6; Biogen Idec said it would lay off 43 employees on Oct. 13; and Nextwave Broadband Inc. said it would lay off 67 employees this week.

The year 2008 has already been tough on tech employees.

California Instruments Corp., which makes programmable power supplies and was acquired by Ametek Inc. late last year, has held three rounds of job cuts, totaling 57 employees from July through September.

Texas Instruments Inc. issued two rounds of job cutting totaling 125 employees on May 30 and Sept. 26, AT & T; has downsized 266 employees in several divisions in San Diego between June 3 to Aug. 15 and Sun Microsystems cut 15 jobs from July through September.

BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair started laying off 633 employees in mid August at its Sampson Street facility in San Diego.

Cubic Corp., a defense contractor, announced 110 job cuts in late July. And Biopharma Favrille Inc., which was has been delisted from the Nasdaq exchange, laid off 131 employees here in early June.

San Diego County’s unemployment rate is at a 13-year high jumping to 6.4 percent in July.

Statewide, layoffs have become pervasive enough to threaten the state’s Depression-era unemployment insurance compensation fund, state officials warn. In July, the state paid $567.4 million unemployment benefits and received 267,000 new claims.


Send technology news items to Ned Randolph at nrandolph@sdbj.com.

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