Intel's Layoff Candidates Look Beyond Hudson Horizon
Frank van Mierlo would go to extreme lengths to attract ex-Intel employees to his company.
The CEO of 1366 Technologies has toyed with driving to Intel's manufacturing plant in Hudson and surreptitiously placing job advertisement flyers on the cars of the hundreds of workers slated to lose their jobs by the end of 2014.
“If they are letting 700 people go, it'd be great if I could create a home for some of them,” said van Mierlo, whose Bedford-based company employs 50 but hopes to grow to 5,000 nationwide over the next several years.
What makes a computer chipmaker so attractive to the head of a solar energy company?
For starters, both Intel and 1366 employees work with silicon wafers, van Mierlo said. Plus, both sets of workers rely on similar processes and chemicals such as hydrofluoric acid.
Some experts shared van Mierlo's belief that the departing Intel employees would have little trouble finding new jobs. The world's leading chipmaker announced Sept. 12 that it would close its factory in Hudson by the end of next year, putting 700 technicians and engineers out of work.
Intel employees usually possess specialized skills and have benefitted from cutting-edge training programs, said Kathy Manning, dean of training and education at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester.
“Every manufacturing employer I talk to has positions they can't fill,” she said. “If you're going to get laid off, manufacturing is the least damaging industry to come from.”
A Challenge For Those With Narrower Skill Sets?
Other experts were more skeptical. Workers such as technicians with fewer unique skills will struggle to find landing spots, predicted Jack Healy, executive director of the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership in Worcester.
“It's going to be a real challenge,” Healy said. “To have that many people coming out at one time, there's not enough positions.”
Intel plans to lay off 100 employees by the end of 2013 and the remaining 600 by the end of the following year.
The Bay State has also recently been losing manufacturing jobs more quickly than the rest of the nation, said Chris Anderson, president of the Massachusetts High Technology Council. Plus, the state's unemployment rate rose throughout the summer.
“We do have a fragile economy,” Anderson said, “so this isn't going to be an easy thing to absorb.”
Finally, increased competition and technological advancements — particularly in automation — have made large manufacturing operations far less labor-intensive than they used to be, said Mike Goodman, chairman of the Department of Public Policy at UMass Dartmouth.
“When the day comes that the plant closes, the folks that remain will be in a very difficult spot,” he said.
Quality technicians and workers familiar with precision machinery should have the sunniest job prospects, according to Healy and Goodman.
Experts in engineering and prototypes could likely apply their skills at technology firms in the Greater Boston area, Goodman said, while Manning said ex-Intel workers could be nicely positioned for careers in health care, biology or management with some retraining.
Hudson employees do have the option of seeking other jobs with Intel, said company spokeswoman Ann Hurd. But that would require that they relocate to Oregon or Arizona, the site of Intel's two other U.S. semiconductor plants.
Intel currently has 329 job openings at its Portland, Ore.-area facility and 72 job openings at its Phoenix-area factory, according to the company's vacancy position listings.
For those wishing to remain in Massachusetts, money would also be a challenge. The average salary at Intel's Hudson plant is roughly $80,000, Hurd said. Engineers make roughly the same in the Boston and Portland areas, and roughly $3,000 less in the Phoenix area, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Technicians in the Boston area make some $2,500 more than their counterparts around Portland and $3,500 more than their peers in the Phoenix area.
Healy expects ex-Intel workers would likely join other firms at a lower rank and have to work their way up the chain as they master new technical skills.
“It took them a number of years to get to $80,000 [at Intel],” Healy said. “It's kind of hard starting with another company at the same level of money.”
Employees who stay with Intel would retain their existing ranks and salaries, Hurd said.
Workers will receive support from both Intel and the state government as they mull over how to proceed.
The state had up to five workforce and labor development employees at the Hudson site during the week of Sept. 16, providing pointers on getting unemployment checks and health insurance as well as conducting on-site workshops for resume-writing and interview skills.
In addition, the state can seek grant money if a comprehensive retraining of the workforce would prove valuable, according to workforce and labor development staff.
Intel also provides departing workers with access to job search support services such as tips on interviews and resume writing, Hurd said, even after their last day with Intel.
As the termination date nears for Intel employees, they'll be offered the option of leaving immediately and receiving higher severance payments or enrolling in a two-month redeployment program, where Hurd said workers would remain on the payroll but be allowed to spend all of their office hours leveraging the Intel network to find different positions.
“Their job,” Hurd said, “is to look for a job.”
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