Sanmina sends jobs overseas

Sanmina-SCI Corp.'s decision to close its circuit-board plant in Wilmington, relocating part of the production overseas and eliminating 490 jobs here, startled local officials. But state officials are already trying to implement programs to help workers before they actually lose their jobs.

''It's unfortunate that this company decided to move shop," said Michael McCoy, chairman of Wilmington's Board of Selectmen, who sent a letter to the company asking it to stay in town. ''We asked that they reconsider their position, and if there was anything we could do to try to assist them."

It is not clear whether Sanmina will sell the Jewel Drive facility, which was acquired when the company merged with Altron Inc. in 2002. Wilmington officials said the town has a low commercial vacancy rate, and they hope the space will soon be taken up by another company. Sanmina told Wilmington it would phase out its operation through Oct. 1.

Officials of Sanmina, a diversified electronics manufacturer based in San Jose, Calif., did not return phone calls seeking comment. In documents filed with the state, the company said it would transfer its Wilmington circuit board operation mainly to Singapore, though some of the work would go to China and Malaysia. Sanmina's website also reported that the company will acquire a circuit board fabricator that has facilities in Wuxi, China, and in Singapore, and that it produces circuit boards and other electronic parts in China and southern Asia.

In the past two years, Sanmina has been cutting back in the region. In 2002, it closed two facilities in Derry and Hudson, N.H., as well as a plant in Haverhill.

When the Haverhill plant closed, the Massachusetts Division of Career Services coached the 177 laid-off workers with job search and educational advice. The latest announcement sent the state into action again, and officials from the division have met with hundreds of Wilmington workers as early as 5 a.m. to as late as 1 a.m., answering questions about the resources that are available to them.

Because the jobs are being moved overseas, the workers, mostly from Lawrence, Lowell, Peabody, and southern New Hampshire, are eligible to receive federal aid. The US Department of Labor made the plant workers eligible for unemployment benefits and educational assistance for two years after they are laid off.

The state also intends to apply for additional aid.

''We are considering applying for a National Emergency Grant," said Ken Messina, the rapid response director for the career services division. That grant would provide training, workshops, career counseling, and other benefits for the workers at career centers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

''Basically, we are gathering all the demographic information and looking at the impact that the largest number of people will have on the career centers where they live," Messina said.

Messina also said that Sanmina would sponsor a career fair Aug. 31 at the plant, and the state was referring workers to various employers, such as construction and electrical companies, that plan to attend.

US Representative John Tierney, a Democrat from Peabody, said he has met with some of the workers and would keep track of them.

''Many of these workers have dedicated 20 or more years to building Sanmina into a profitable corporation, and it is patently unfair that many of their jobs will now be headed overseas," said Tierney, who met with several of those living in Peabody, mostly Portuguese speakers, earlier this month.

Massachusetts officials are still trying to place some of the thousands of workers who lost their jobs last year. But Messina said the trend of companies closing operations is slowing. Last year, 270 companies closed some type of facility, 47 fewer than the year before, he said.

In Wilmington, Messina said, the state will do all it can to help the Sanmina employees find work or more schooling.

''I think the state is prepared," he said. ''We are working together with companies, linking workers before they are laid off, and that is a big advantage for the people."

Angelica Medaglia can be reached at medaglia@globe.com.