DAYTON, Ohio -- NCR Corp. announced Friday plans to consolidate its retail peripheral developement and manufacturing operations in Cambridge, Ohio, with its retail systems production facility in suburban Atlanta.
NCR is in the midst of a $7.8 billion takeover by AT&T that will have the Dayton firm take over the communication giant's present computer manufacturing operations. But NCR says the consolidation is not linked to the merger.
'While this action is guided by business reasons, it is being taken with the utmost reluctance in view of the many contributions of the Cambridge work force over the years,' said plant general manager John Manchir.
'We are doing everything possible to minimize the effect on our employees, their families and the community through comprehensive employee-support and community programs,' he added.
The Cambridge facility manufactures point-of-sale products including scanners and updated electronic cash registers. It will be closed by the second half of 1992 when the consolidation is finished, affecting the jobs of 492 employees.
NCR says transfers to Atlanta will be offered to 142 salaried employees. The remainder who do not relocate or find jobs at other NCR plants will be offered outplacement assistance and severance packages.
Excess manufacturing capacity is cited by NCR as reason for closing the Cambridge facility. It comes, in large part, on new electronic components that have reduced the content found in the earlier point-of- sale products.
NCR says plans for disposing of the plant and its 62-acre site are still pending and it will fund the services of an economic developer for the Cambridge community for two years.
'We are working with state agencies and private parties to find a productive use for the plant which will help in restoring jobs and tax receipts to the Cambridge area,' Manchir said.
NCR isalso also donating one year's property and payroll taxes to the city of Cambridge. It will continue supporting the the local United Way campaign for three years.
The plant's 1990 payroll totaled $21 million. The approximately $25 million in before-tax costs associated with the closing will be charged against NCR's third-quarter 1991 earnings.
Customer deliveries of retail peripherals, including scanners, scanner-scale combinations and magnetic stripe readers, will continue during the consolidation.
NCR bought the 400,000 square foot Cambridge facility, a former RCA plant, in 1965. Employment peaked in 1980 at 2,030 and it began declining as new methods helped reduce the content of the electronic components in its products.
The 210,000-square foot engineering and manufacturing facility in Gwinnett County near Atlanta opened in 1990. It has 400 employees and serves as NCR's lead facility in the development and manufacture of retail systems.
