Officials with Semitool Inc., have notified all 520 of the company’s Montana employees of possible layoffs, beginning as early as May 8.
Soon, company officials will begin crunching numbers to see if such a drastic step is necessary.
Semitool laid off 100 workers in Kalispell and Libby on Nov. 10 and 200 more on Jan. 8.
Semitool’s general counsel Richard Hegger says the company doesn’t have firm numbers and has not identified any particular employees who would be subject to layoffs.
He says the company is just trying to be prepared for it.
Federal law requires 60 days notice when an employer anticipates laying off a third or more of its work force, or if the potential layoffs affect 500 or more people.
Semitool manufactures wafer processing equipment for the semiconductor industry. It has three facilities in western Montana — two in Kalispell and one in Libby.