Caribou company to close its doors 62 to lose jobs at First Technology

CARIBOU – A total of 62 full-time employees will lose their jobs this year when a local company that makes automotive circuitry moves its production to central Maine and the Dominican Republic.

Employees of First Technology were told Tuesday afternoon that the company is closing its operations in Caribou, and all employees will be out of the Caribou plant by Dec. 31.

An employee who wanted to remain anonymous reported the closure late Tuesday afternoon. He said Jeffrey Woods, chief executive officer of the company, told employees about the closure at about 3 p.m. Employees were told the work they were doing will be moved to plants in Standish and the Dominican Republic.

Employees reportedly were told they would receive a severance package, but company officials provided no details Tuesday.

“How did you find out so fast?” Mark Bouchard, company accounting and human resources manager at Caribou, said when asked about the closure. He said he could not comment on the situation.

Beverly Miner, head of human resources at Standish, verified the closure early Tuesday evening.

“It’s kind of sad,” she said. “Some people will lose their jobs, and others will be gaining.

“The closure will be gradual, but it will be done by the end of the year,” Miner said.

The Standish plant has 200 employees.

“There is a good possibility that [Caribou] employees wishing to relocate to Standish can be accommodated,” she said. “It is our hope that we can arrange for as many people to relocate as possible.”

Miner said most of the Caribou production will be moved to Standish. Some products will be discontinued, and one line of products made in Caribou will be manufactured in the Dominican Republic.

The announcement was a surprise to everyone in Caribou. Only the plant manager had advance notice of the announcement, Miner said.

Steve Buck, Caribou city manager, said he was informed of the closure by hand-delivered letter late Tuesday afternoon.

Buck said First Technology is the kind of industry cities and towns like to have because it is a “clean industry.”

“It’s a lot of jobs,” he said. “It’s a big hit for us, and it will be a tough one.”

Although Buck thought there was no chance of keeping the company in Caribou, he said he had set up meetings to start dealing with the situation.

Operations at the Caribou plant have been diminishing slowly, but no one was thinking about closure, the anonymous employee said.

“This was out of the blue for us,” he said. “I don’t even think that local management had any idea this was happening.”

The company, which has been in Caribou for more than two decades, makes automotive circuitry parts at its plant on Access Road.

While many of the assembly line jobs pay about $7 an hour, the anonymous employee said other jobs, such as management and trade positions, were paid much higher salaries.

Miner said hourly wages ranged between $7 and $15 per hour at Caribou, depending on the skill required for the job.

The company first opened in Caribou under the name Mecon in the late 1970s. Its name has changed several times.

First Technology Caribou and First Technology Standish are part of the First Technology PLC Group based in the United Kingdom. The company has 1,200 employees worldwide. About 47 percent of its sales are in the United States.

Its U.S. base is in Standish. The company also has plants in Grand Blanc, Mich., and in the Dominican Republic.