Jabil to close Meridian ID plant

City officials see action as a blow to area economy.
Jabil Circuit Inc. will lay off about 500 workers by the end of the year and close its Southwest Idaho manufacturing plant, company officials confirmed Tuesday.

A company spokeswoman said demand for Jabil´s telecommunications and networking products has dwindled. Jabil, which employs 17,000 people worldwide, targeted the Meridian plant for closure because of performance issues.

“The three things that we considered were its historical performance, its manufacturing capabilities and its organizational depth,” Lisa Allison said from the company´s headquarters in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Most of the jobs affected are in manufacturing, Allison said, though some engineering and management jobs also will be eliminated.

Meridian city officials didn´t welcome the news.

“You bet it´s a setback for us. It´s a setback for the whole valley,” Meridian City Councilman Keith Bird said Tuesday night.

Allison declined to estimate the average wage of the manufacturing jobs to be cut. Statewide, the average wage for line production of electronics products is about $10 an hour, according to the Idaho Department of Labor.

Jabil plans to close the plant by December. Employees were sent home Tuesday and told to return Thursday, when more information about potential job transfers will be available, Allison said.

Jabil provides electronic manufacturing services. The Meridian plant manufactures printed circuit boards for assembly in telecommunications products.

The news was another blow to Idaho´s economy. For several years, the state´s rural areas have suffered increasing unemployment amid the national recession. But recently, the Treasure Valley, which once seemed immune from the struggling economy, started losing jobs along with the rest of the state.

In Ada County, where Meridian has been one of Idaho´s fastest-growing cities, joblessness has been steadily increasing. Ada County lost 1,000 jobs during the past year.

Meridian Mayor Bob Corrie said he learned of the closure Tuesday afternoon. He planned to speak with Jabil executives today.

Corrie said city officials, concerned about the loss of taxes from the Jabil property, will work to fill the site with a new tenant.

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