Advanced Input Devices lays off 20 employees ini Coeur d’Alene, ID

In spite of achieving record sales in its last fiscal year, a four-month turndown in business meant a layoff of 5 percent of the work force at Advanced Input Devices on Monday.

By RICK THOMAS
Staff writer

http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2004/03/03/business/bus01.txt

The 20 employees included 11 in management and nine in production, said Brad Lawrence, president of the company.

"The reduction in our work force was required because of a slowdown in the medical sector of our business," said Lawrence, who has headed the Coeur d’Alene operation since November 2002.

Advanced Input Devices, which has a base employment of 317, makes components for electronic devices including automated teller machines and military vehicles.

"We’re probably the largest manufacturer in the area," said Lawrence. "We make products ranging from rubber buttons to items too heavy to carry."

Lawrence said 60 percent of the company’s product is for the medical market.

"We’re having a hard time understanding that (the slowdown in sales)," he said. "When we interview our customers, none will say that business is off."

Lawrence said some customers have indicated they may have ordered too much last fall in anticipation of a strong sales year that didn’t materialize.

"They’re burning off inventory," he said.

Founded in 1979, AID was acquired in the late 1990s by Esterline Technologies, a publicly-traded Bellevue, Wash., company.

Esterline’s 16 companies have more than 4,000 employees worldwide.

Sales by those companies totaled $600 million in the fiscal year ending Oct. 31, 2003, Lawrence said. He did not break down sales by AID, but said they were 20 percent above the prior year.

Lawrence said they saw the need for layoffs several weeks ago and began making plans.

He said the cuts were made based on the needs of AID’s 12 departments, and included department managers, technicians, and marketing and financial executives.

Some of the laid-off employees took voluntary retirement, said Lawrence.

"We have a fairly mature work force," he said. "Many have been there for some time."

AID has divisions in Michigan and in China and England, but Lawrence said the international units are not responsible for any reductions in the local factory.

"That’s growth," he said. "They’ve allowed us to maintain customers."

Lawrence remains optimistic about the future of Advanced Input Devices.

"We think our market is strong," he said. "I don’t anticipate this (the layoffs) will continue."

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