Plummeting European demand for mobile phone handsets has forced component molder Perlos Corp. to close its plant in Komarom, Hungary, with a loss of 500 more jobs.
Last month, the company's Hungarian managers said they were reducing the plant's workforce of more than 1,000 by 600 full-time employees in response to the global economic downturn. But now, with the crisis deepening and serious economic uncertainty, the company has decided this radical surgery is insufficient. So, it will now shut down its Hungarian handset production facility in stages, completing the move by June.
``With the reduced demand level, manufacturing operations at Komarom have turned unprofitable very quickly. As a result, we are being forced to run down manufacturing at a brisk pace,'' said the site's general manager, Timo Rouvinen, in a news release.
Vantaa, Finland-based Perlos, owned by Taiwanese electronics group Lite-On Technology Corp., will maintain a service hub in Komarom. It will also continue printing and other finishing services on-site. The final headcount will depend on the level of future activities and market development, Perlos said.
Perlos Chief Executive Officer Cor Saris said he is sure the speed and extent of the closure ``caught everyone by surprise'' and he expressed regret at the scale of the development.
The plant covers an area of nearly 238,000 square feet. Perlos is a major supplier of telecommunications components to global giant Nokia Oyj.