mchen@heraldsun.com; 419-6636
DURHAM -- Garmin International Inc. is holding a job fair Thursday, with an eye toward opening a research and development facility in the Triangle in the near future.
The Kansas-based maker of the Garmin GPS device announced Tuesday that it plans to hire up to 40 employees in the "Raleigh-Durham area" who have wireless development and software experience and are handset certification engineers.
The job fair will be held at the Hilton Raleigh-Durham Airport hotel in Durham's Research Triangle Park from 2-8 p.m.
The company wanted to open its first North Carolina facility in the Triangle because of the available work force and the recent layoffs in the area, according to spokesman Ted Gartner.
"Raleigh-Durham is known as a hub for high-tech talent and for its universities," he said. "We're also certainly aware of the cutbacks and layoffs that have occurred in the area. We know there are many highly qualified engineers."
The new facility in the Triangle will be mostly staffed by new hires, Gartner said, and would likely work on the nüvifone, the company’s product which combines a GPS with a smartphone.
Research Triangle Park workers have experienced several layoffs in the past year, including most recently Sony Ericsson and Ericsson, which laid off hundreds of workers by the end of 2009.
Garmin’s announcement comes on the heels of Research In Motion, the Canadian maker of the Blackberry, recently confirming plans of opening an R&D office in the Triangle. The exact location of RIM’s new facility has not been released.
Gartner declined to give more information on Garmin’s new facility on Tuesday, saying only that the company is close to signing a lease.
Founded in 1989, Garmin is the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of satellite navigation products. The global company posted $1.89 billion in revenues through the third quarter of 2009 and has more than 8,500 employees worldwide.
Garmin’s Web site had one job listing on Tuesday for Raleigh, for a project manager of consumer engineering.
For information on Garmin hires in the area, visit garmin.blogs.com/RTPjobs, twitter.com/WorkAtGarmin or e-mail RTPjobs@garmin.com.
