After the employee layoffs of about 1,000 people worldwide, the company will have 8,000 employees left. About 120 out of the 500 employees in this state will be laid off, according to Tom Newman, vice president of corporate relations for the company. "The business is in a significant slowdown," Newman tells GlobeSt.com. "Ever since the middle of last year we've had to deal with reduced orders and shipments and that won't be resolved quickly."

Newman says that the company's current facilities will not be affected by the layoffs. The company has two facilities here; two in North Reading; and, one in Bedford. The company was in the process of developing three new facilities in Bedford but halted the construction recently. Newman says that the steel is already up on those facilities with temporary closures on top of them. "The industry goes through these things regularly," he points out. "It's a volatile business but what is unusual about this downturn is that it affected all of our businesses--even those not involved in the semiconductor business--simultaneously."