GLEN COVE, NY, Dec. 17 - Printed circuit board maker Photocircuits Corp. will cut its manufacturing operations outside Atlanta and lay off 500 staff, the company said today.

The site, located in Peachtree City, GA, will be cut to a single building, from 300,000 sq. ft. and four buildings over the next nine months. The staff will be reduced to 100 workers from the current headcount of 600.

"This change to the physical presence of Photocircuits in North America results from the changing competitive landscape for printed circuits," the company said in an unattributed statement. "More and more customers demand the economic advantages of sourcing in Asia."

Photocircuits will maintain print-and-etch operations in Peachtree City, plus sales and technical services, logistics and inventory management.

Backlogs will be sent to Photocircuits' facility in Glen Cove, New York, and factories in China, where the PCB maker partners with Japan-based CMK.

The company estimates that realignment of the site will last about nine months.

2004 has been unkind to Photocircuits, one of the oldest PCB firms in the world. The company, once the largest board shop in the U.S., is in the hands of outside management and two of its longtime owners -- John Endee and Steve Wohlgemuth -- have been let go. The company had sales of $234 million in 2003, according to PCD&M contributing editor Hayao Nakahara, making it the 32d largest PCB company in the world.

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