HILLSBORO, Ore. — Epson Americas Inc. plans to eliminate more than 800 jobs, or about three-quarters of the work force, at its computer printer plant here and move the work to lower-cost factories in Asia.
The job cuts, scheduled for midsummer, include about 520 company employees plus another 300 contract workers, said David Graham, the company’s vice president. Employees were told of the cuts Monday.
The company, a subsidiary of privately owned Seiko Epson based in Suwa, Japan, will continue to employ about 250 people in Hillsboro. Most will work in research and development and inkjet cartridge manufacturing.
“This is strictly an economic decision,” Graham said. “We feel terrible about the impact on the employees.”
Until now, Epson had been one of the last holdouts still building inkjet printers using U.S. workers. Market-leader Hewlett-Packard sent its manufacturing overseas three years ago.
HP’s archrival, Lexmark, also uses Asian factories.
