Fujitsu, Alcoa Plan Layoffs at S.D. Plants

Significant layoffs were announced Monday at two San Diego electronics manufacturers.

Fujitsu Microelectronics said it will close its San Diego Manufacturing Division, with production ceasing immediately, resulting in layoffs of 260 local employees.

Open since 1980, the Fujitsu Microelectronics plant on Ruffin Road in Kearny Mesa is being closed because of “the downturn in the economy and competitive pressure,” the company said in a prepared statement. The company makes a broad line of standard and custom semiconductor products and electronics components.

Alcoa Electronic Packaging Inc. will lay off 115 employees--25% of its San Diego work force--during a streamlining of its manufacturing process, the company said Monday. The layoffs at Alcoa, which opened its San Diego plant in 1987, will be effective Sept. 3.

The layoffs are being caused by “a major simplification of our business and manufacturing processes,” according to Hubert Gray, a spokesman for Alcoa Electronics, which is a subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based Alcoa Corp. “The simplification has resulted in a dramatic reduction of our product manufacturing cycle.”

Following the layoffs, Alcoa will have about 335 employees in San Diego. The company manufactures ceramic packages for the electronics industry.