Symmetricom, which makes network timekeeping technology in Santa Rosa, will cut more than half its Santa Rosa staff over the next year as it consolidates engineering and manufacturing with two other U.S. locations, the company said Wednesday.
About 55 of 85 positions in Santa Rosa will be eliminated by the end of the year, said company spokesman Dan Madden.
About 35 of the jobs will go to San Jose and Beverly, Mass., where Symmetricom has engineering and manufacturing centers.
Part of Symmetricom's Santa Rosa manufacturing will be outsourced, he said.
The company is headquartered in San Jose.
Madden said some Santa Rosa employees will be offered jobs in San Jose and Massachusetts, but declined to say how many. Santa Rosa will remain as a sales and marketing office, he said.
The move is driven by changes in Symmetricom's product mix, Madden said. "Our products are evolving into IP (Internet Protocol) and network-oriented architecture," he said.
Symmetricom designs those products in San Jose and wants to merge its engineering teams so there's better collaboration, Madden said.
Santa Rosa has been headquarters for Symmetricom's government business unit, which makes computer timekeeping technology for defense and aerospace communication networks.
Symmetricom bought the Santa Rosa business in 2002 from TrueTime, Inc., which was founded in 1972.
A Symmetricom employee in Santa Rosa, who didn't want to be identified by name, said employees were surprised by Wednesday's announcement. But many suspected such a move could happen eventually, he said.
Last year, Symmetricom said it was moving most of its production from a company-owned Puerto Rican factory to Sanmina, a contract electronics manufacturer with locations around the world.
The cost-saving move has been problematic for Symmetricom, which reported a 26 percent slump in sales Wednesday because of delays in its shipments to customers. Symmetricom posted a $3.5 million loss for the quarter on $42 million in sales.
"The financial results of our second quarter were disappointing due to fulfillment delays that resulted from issues we encountered during our manufacturing transition," said Dave C?? Symmetricom's CEO.
"These difficulties are not related to the inherent manufacturability or quality of our products, but are logistical and process issues related to component supply and material flows, which we are working hard to solve as rapidly as possible," he said.
Symmetricom's government business generated $21.5 million in sales last quarter, up slightly from the same period a year ago.
The Santa Rosa restructuring will cost Symmetricom about $2.5 million, mostly for relocation and severance, according to a company filing Wednesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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