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Jabil Circuit Cuts 120 Local Jobs

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By RICHARD MULLINS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 12, 2008

TAMPA - As Jabil Circuit Inc. negotiates with local governments for incentives to keep its headquarters in St. Petersburg, the company announced 120 local job cuts Thursday. That's about 6.5 percent of the local work force.

In making the cuts, executives cited a downturn in business among customers that hire Jabil to assemble their electronic goods. Jabil counts companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Nokia among its clients.

Jabil employs 1,880 people in the St. Petersburg area, where it also has two assembly plants that conduct test manufacturing and assembly of military and aerospace electronics.

Globally, Jabil employs more than 75,000 people at dozens of factories around the world. The company's finances have been battered amid a global slowdown in electronics.

"We certainly will look toward rehiring many of these same employees as the economy rebounds and business demands return," said Jabil spokeswoman Beth Walters.

The cuts come at a delicate time locally for Jabil.

This summer, Jabil executives warned St. Petersburg officials that it might move its headquarters and manufacturing facilities to a location outside Florida.

St. Petersburg officials have been guarded about that possibility while they marshaled a proposal called Project Extreme to retain a company with a similar profile. The incentives included: $4.7 million if the company locates in a "brownfield" area, $13 million in road construction to a manufacturing site and $15 million in other financial incentives from the state, St. Petersburg and Pinellas County.

In exchange, the company would add 858 new jobs and build a $49 million building with $3 million in research and technical equipment.

Walters said the layoffs do not affect a potential deal with local governments, and new construction and jobs are "still a possibility."

Although declining to name the company involved in Project Extreme, St. Petersburg's economic development director, David Goodwin, said any offer for Jabil or another company hinges on retaining or creating jobs.

The Project Extreme package is still available, but he said the company has not responded officially.

That said, "If a company is laying off people, they're neither creating new jobs or retaining existing jobs, and they're not able to collect on a package," Goodwin said.

He added, "Whatever is going on at Jabil, we hope they're able to turn it around."

Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at rmullins@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7919.

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