Tech Firm Coherent To Cut 108 Jobs Due To Undermining Business Conditions

California-based tech company Coherent will diminish its Fremont office workforce by a little over 100 come May 15, according to a letter filed with the state Employment Development Department (EDD).

The letter to EDD came in accordance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) act which requires companies with over 100 employees to provide notice at least 60 days prior to layoffs and closures.

Coherent laid off 108 employees at its Finisar subsidiary on Christy Street, the WARN letter read, citing undermining business conditions as the reason.

"This action is necessary due to a fall in business demand, which prompted a restructuring of operations with a focus on reducing business costs," Shirley Reha, Coherent chief human resources officer, wrote in the WARN letter, SiliconValley reported. Employees on the chopping block were notified in writing about their termination this week. The company further declared that the layoffs will be "permanent" and "there are no bumping rights."

Coherent Corp. is the maker of high-tech lasers, optical gear and other equipment for the fast-growing multiple-billion dollar industrial, communications, electronics and instrumentation markets.

The announcement has come months after engineered materials and optoelectronic component-making firm II-VI Incorporated acquired Coherent, Inc. After the merger, the companies had a global workforce totaling 28,000 associates in 130 locations, a press announcement said in July 2022.

In last September, II-VI announced that the corporate industry going forward will know them as Coherent Corp. Following the merger, Andy Mattes, President and CEO of Coherent, was replaced by II-VI chair and CEO Dr. Vincent Mattera.

Talking about the rebranding endeavors, Mattera, new chair and CEO of Coherent Corp, said, "We chose the name Coherent because it has the universal meaning of 'bringing things together, and an appeal that we believe will expand our brand recognition and ultimately lead to value creation."

"The broader meaning of the word coherent represents our diversity in thinking distilled into our clarity of purpose, our unity in action, and our broader sense of engagement by connection to our mission, vision, and values," Mattera said.

In December, the company won a Supplier Excellence Award from Applied Materials Inc. "The award reflects the performance, quality, and ability to scale our materials that are vital to the exploding requirements of the wafer fab equipment ecosystem that we are serving," said Steve Rummel, Senior VP at Coherent.

Last month, Coherent announced the introduction of a fully automated laser system for texturing and marking implantable medical devices. "The laser-based process is contactless, which eliminates any risk of contamination and ensures a very high level of quality and uniformity required for medical devices," the company said.

Coherent's valuation as per its second quarter 2023 results was $1.37 billion, up 70% from 2Q 2022. It endured a net loss of $81 million, down by 259% from 2Q 2022, and a per-share loss of $0.58. The company's revenue is projected to grow by 9.3% per annum on average over the next three years, according to SimplyWallSt.