The Photocircuits

plant in Peachtree City laid off about 175 workers Friday, a plant spokesman

confirmed this week.

The layoffs

were tied into the cutbacks at DaimlerChrysler, one of Photocircuits'

top customers, said superintendent Scott Formel. He also cited a slowdown

in the telecommunications market as a reason for the layoffs.

"They

(DaimlerChrysler) are doing a lot of inventory adjustment," Formel

said, explaining that the automobile giant is cutting back its orders

with Photocircuits.

Photocircuits

manufactures printed circuit boards for use in automobile, telecommunications

and computer applications. In cars, for instance, its circuit boards are

used in car radios, dashboards and engine control boards, Formel said.

Photocircuits,

which began in Peachtree City in 1982 with approximately 50 employees,

will still have about 1,000 workers on staff even after the layoffs, Formel

added. The manufacturing plant operates 24 hours a day, Formel confirmed.

Another Photocircuits

plant elsewhere also had similar layoffs. But Photocircuits is still a

very viable company, Formel added.

The company

expects business to pick back up in March or April, and if possible it

will re-hire employees who have been laid off, Formel said. The company

will work with its sources to help find jobs for displaced employees,

and the Georgia Department of Labor will assist also, he added.

"Those

are good employees," Formel said.

The layoffs

in Peachtree City affected a broad range of employees but hit certain

departments hard, Formel said. Typically, the layoffs are determined based

on performance and not on seniority, he said.

The company

recently received the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce's Spirit of Industry

award for 2000.