ENDICOTT -- Endicott Interconnect Technologies and Huron Real Estate Associates cut 85 manufacturing and overhead jobs Friday in the third round of work force reductions Endicott Interconnect has implemented since the start of the year.

At A Glance Endicott Interconnect Technologies is a supplier of organic semiconductor chip packaging, printed circuit boards and assembly services. The company's product lines support the needs of the information technology, telecommunications, test equipment, defense and aerospace, medical, automotive and power management markets. ON THE INTERNET www.endicottinterconnect.com

Endicott Interconnect cites a "sudden decline in bookings for the company in the printed circuit board business unit" as a reason for the cutbacks. Friday's action affected about 5 percent of the total work force at Endicott Interconnect and Huron, which supports Endicott Interconnect with distribution services such as shipping and receiving.

About 100 temporary employees working in the printed circuit board business unit also were affected by the cutbacks, Endicott Interconnect Vice President of Human Resources James Sullivan said.

Endicott Interconnect has reduced its work force twice before in 2004. In April, a union official reported about 60 workers were fired because of performance issues. In May, Endicott Interconnect cut 84 workers as part of a restructuring it said would eventually strengthen the company.

Bill Eno, 47, of Vestal, was one of the Endicott Interconnect workers told Friday he no longer had a job.

The equipment service technician was at home on vacation when he got a call from his manager to come to the plant. He had spent 22 years working for IBM and then two years employed at Endicott Interconnect.

"We were a world-class operation, and now all of a sudden we can't keep our head out of water," said Eno, who described the mood among workers at the plant Friday as "pretty dreary."

"Everyone else feels it's just a matter of time," he said.

Eno said he is not optimistic about his local job prospects and will probably move from New York to find work.

Endicott Interconnect has lost a reported 429 workers through layoffs and firings since its inception. The number includes the 200 workers the company laid off two weeks after the company took over the former IBM Microelectronics operation in 2002. Those cutbacks, which had affected about 10 percent of the company's work force, occurred almost two weeks after Election Day in 2002. Managers told affected employees about the recent job losses just three days after Election Day this year.

"We are continuing to see encouraging signs within several of our business units that leads us to believe that this revenue reduction is isolated to our printed circuit board operation, and we anticipate an improvement in all business units after the first of the year," Endicott Interconnect President and Chief Executive Officer James J. McNamara Jr. said in a prepared release.

The printed circuit board industry continues to suffer from inconsistent order activity and a shifting of production to low-cost regions, the company reported.

"Endicott Interconnect is not immune from the fluctuations in orders in the domestic printed circuit board market, but we believe our high technology and high reliability products will continue to be manufactured successfully and profitably in the United States," McNamara said.

McNamara noted growing international interest for Endicott Interconnect's SureScan product, a device that lacks Transportation Security Administration certification, as well as key customer wins in the company's semiconductor and complex assembly business units.

However, SureScan -- a joint venture with Falls Church, Va.-based Ensco to build explosives-detection devices -- has yet to produce any significant hiring, though the companies had reported the project could generate about 700 new jobs at the Endicott plant.

"It seems like every time we turn around, people that have worked there for many years get let go," said Lee Conrad, organizer of Alliance@IBM in Endicott. "Once again, another black day for the community."

Area businesses also will be affected by the job losses.

"It's going to hurt my business a lot," said George Corrente, owner of Touch of Sicily Cafe on North Street in Endicott.

He opened the business, near Endicott Interconnect and the other businesses located on the Huron campus, in September.

"A hundred percent of my business is from over there," said Corrente, who could close his eatery if Endicott Interconnect continues to cut workers.

Broome-Tioga Works Executive Director Patrick Doyle said he's hopeful the affected workers will find jobs locally.

The reduction in the permanent work force could trim about $6 million to $7 million from Endicott Interconnect's overhead based on average wage rates and benefit costs of the employees affected.

In recent weeks, Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego and BAE Systems Platform Solutions in Westover announced they each would create 100 jobs at their plants.

"There are positions in the area that are available, and we'll have to do what we can to match people up to what's out there," Doyle said.

Doyle described the recent cutbacks as a "bump in the road" for Endicott Interconnect, a company trying to diversify its business base and be competitive in a global economy.

"We're all pulling for them to be successful," he said. "We want it to work, but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy."

Bijoy Datta of state Sen. Thomas W. Libous' office said he was unaware of the job losses until the news was posted Friday on the Press & Sun-Bulletin Web site, pressconnects.com.

"We don't manage the company, so we can't appropriately comment on their management decisions," Datta said.

Libous, R-Binghamton, helped engineer the sale of the IBM complex and microelectronics business to local investors who created Endicott Interconnect. Libous and Gov. George E. Pataki were among the politicians who praised Endicott Interconnect and its affect on the community at recent public events.

"Empire State Development has worked extensively with Endicott Interconnect Technologies in the past and will continue to work with them in the future," Empire State Development spokesman Ron Jury said in an e-mail to the Press & Sun-Bulletin. "While the global trends affecting the electronics industry are unfortunate, we remain confident the company will ultimately meet its goals in the manufacture of the high speed explosive detection device. Additionally, we continue to work everyday to provide the best and most favorable business climate and to help companies remain competitive, grow and create jobs."

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