The latest announcement is actually a double whammy from Newport Corporation, which is based in Irvine California and is a leading manufacturer of lasers.  Newport is laying off 8-10% of its global workforce, and “it is transferring or outsourcing certain manufacturing processes, particularly in the company’s Lasers Division, to lower-cost sources in Asia, including the company’s new manufacturing facility in Wuxi, China.”  Don’t worry, though, that it’s just the guys in the plant who are taking the hit – the accountants and other back office staffing will also be “streamlined” following a three year SAP installation.

This is happening in spite of the dollar’s recent weakness, which tends to make manufacturing in America more cost competitive and rising costs for Chinese manufacturers.  It also reflects continued economic challenges at home along with an increasingly competitive global economic environment.

Alongside this flow of jobs overseas, we’re seeing increasing member and web visitor traffic to the employment termination and severance agreements areas on our legal agreements website.  If you’re interested in learning more about Newport Corporations agreements and contracts, or if you want to see their SEC filings and SEC exhibits, you can search and preview them for free.