Most Microdyne workers unlikely to transfer

AUGUSTA – Microdyne Outsourcing Inc. does not expect more than 20 percent of its 267 employees at a closing call center to accept similar jobs in Orono, a company official said Tuesday.

“We’re hoping to have at least 50 people transfer to our Orono facility,” said Lisa Fogg, the company’s human resources director.

Fogg told members of a local task force trying to assist displaced workers that the exact number of employees willing to relocate should be known Jan. 22. She said many employees, especially those who live south of Augusta, will be unable to make the long commute to Orono.

Microdyne last week announced plans to close its facility in the Augusta Business Park on March 14 in order to consolidate its Maine operations. All of the call center’s employees have been offered jobs with the same pay in Orono, about 80 miles to the north.

While the total number of workers planning to relocate is unknown, the company still needs to create a total of 275 new jobs in Orono, according to Elizabeth McLemore, assistant marketing manager at Microdyne’s home office in Torrance, Calif. Those additional jobs will bring the number of positions in Orono to 800. In a telephone interview last week, Microdyne president John Oakes said it is possible an additional 150 to 180 positions will be created in Orono in the next few months if the company secures major contracts from two new clients.

Most jobs at Microdyne pay from $8 to $12 an hour. The company will cover up to $500 in household moving expenses.

Microdyne, which specializes in customer-service assistance for high-tech companies, established operations in Maine after buying the assets of EnvisioNet in 2001.