ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 9, 1997 TAG: 9701100137
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
AMP Inc. said Wednesday it will close its plant in Roanoke as part of a major restructuring of its lines of business.
The various closings will affect about 1,000 jobs worldwide, the company said, but it did not specify the number in Roanoke. It promised more details in its Jan. 22 report on fourth-quarter earnings.
In late 1994, AMP employed 409 people in three shifts at its two Roanoke plants.
The company supplied few details about the actions. Danny Bobbitt, manager of the Roanoke plant, referred all questions about the shutdown and loss of employment to Thea Hocker, spokeswoman at the AMP headquarters in Harrisburg, Pa. Hocker did not return calls.
AMP opened a precision machine shop at 520 Kimball Ave. N.E. in 1983 and a manufacturing plant at 5614 Hollins Road in 1985. It recently consolidated the Kimball Avenue operations at the Hollins Road plant, which will close, said Danny Bobbitt, manager of the Roanoke plant.
AMP is a major supplier of electrical and electronic connectors and interconnection systems. It employs nearly 45,000 workers at more than 90 plants in Asia, Europe and the Americas and reported sales of $5.2 billion in 1995.
In its statement, the company said it would "rationalize and streamline parts of the business" throughout 1997.
The announcement followed the company's disclosure Dec. 31 that it would restructure its business and take a one-time charge of $195 million against earnings for the 1996 fourth quarter.
William Hudson, president of AMP, said in the statement that the company had three reasons for its changes.
The first, he said, was to eliminate certain product lines and underperforming operations. Secondly, the company wanted to improve profitability and strengthen operations. Finally, AMP wanted to build a stronger global business.
Only a small percentage of the restructuring charge would come from layoffs, Hudson said, because most of the affected businesses are not labor-intensive.
Closing of plants in Roanoke and McSherrystown, Pa., is "part of AMP's manufacturing integration strategy," the statement said.
An employee of the Roanoke plant said workers were notified at a meeting Wednesday that it will close March 14. She said the workers were told some of them might be offered transfers to Greensboro, N.C.
The employee declined to be identified. She said she likes the company and would take a transfer if offered.
The company said it also will significantly reduce its presence in the market for military cylindrical pin and socket connectors, which will mean closing a plant in California and reducing employment in other locations.
AMP also plans to move out of certain aspects of the printed wiring board business. As a consequence, a facility in Riverhead, N.Y., will be phased out and some assets consolidated into a plant at Greenville, S.C.
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