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75 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, August 28, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 4, 2004 Bear Creek fires 60 employees By GREG STILES Mail Tribune Bear Creek Corporation, the Rogue Valley’s largest employer, laid off 60 information technology, finance and human resources employees Tuesday. The reduction of an estimated $3 million-plus from the company’s payroll resulted primarily from the break-up of Yamanouchi Consumer Inc. earlier this year although the company attributed some cuts to internal reorganization. The reduction represents nearly 1.5 percent of the newly consolidated Bear Creek Corp. and YCI workforce. The company said an additional 35 open positions will be eliminated. Wasserstein & Co. of New York acquired Bear Creek from Japan’s Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical for $260 million in June. The Tokyo-based conglomerate sold YCI holdings Shaklee Corporation, Shaklee Japan and INOBYS separately for $310 million. Bear Creek said a smaller workload following separation from the other Yamanouchi Consumer companies necessitated downsizing. Advertisement "We believe the action we took allows Bear Creek to have a staff more appropriate and sufficient going forward," Bear Creek spokesman Bill Ihle said. "People may have had a sense this was coming." Although YCI transferred information technology workloads from Pleasanton, Calif., to the Medford campus in recent years, Ihle said many of the displaced workers were hired locally for specific Yamanouchi or INOBYS needs. "This was a very difficult, but necessary, step to take," said Bill Williams, Bear Creek’s president and chief executive officer, in a written statement. "We did this only after rigorous evaluation of Bear Creek Corporation’s needs and careful deliberation was given to those affected. The individuals involved are talented, dedicated and valued colleagues to whom generous separation packages have been made available." The loss of 60 well-paying jobs is never a good thing, said Bruce Laird, state regional economic development officer. "But the thing about this area is that it has transitioned to where there is enough vitality to absorb people with those skills," he said. Laird predicted many of the employees wishing to remain in the area will find work within 90 to 120 days. "My guess is that they’re generally high-skilled people, and I’d be really surprised if the bulk didn’t land on their feet from this thing," Laird said. "This is not a down market. These are not people laid off from an industry in decline." Laird paralleled the layoffs to those two years ago at boatmaker Jetcraft, where 35 workers were put out of work overnight. Because they possessed skills in high demand, three-fourths were back to work in the same industry within a month. In April 2003, YCI and Bear Creek laid off 12 employees, mostly from its information systems staff. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities