Carl Zeiss lays off most of its staff at Chesterfield lab Carl Zeiss is laying off 73

**Chris Ryser** · 06-04-2014, 12:59 PM

Richmond Area Business News

Carl Zeiss lays off most of its staff at Chesterfield lab

Carl Zeiss is laying off 73 employees, keeping 25

BY CAROL HAZARD Richmond Times-Dispatch

Carl Zeiss Vision Inc. is laying off 73 people, or nearly 75 percent, of its employees at an eyeglass laboratory in eastern Chesterfield County.
Employees were given a 60-day notice Friday that their jobs would be cut, a company spokesman said Monday.

The lab will no longer do surfacing on eyeglasses, where prescriptions and coatings are added, said Jeff Hopkins, spokesman for Carl Zeiss Vision’s U.S. headquarters in San Diego.

The remaining 25 people at the Chesterfield lab will continue to take orders and do assembly — putting lenses into frames — and final inspections.

The cuts are being made here and elsewhere as the company consolidates work into labs in Portland, Ore., and Tijuana, Mexico.

The main reason for the consolidation is that the technology has changed, allowing for better optics, Hopkins said. Premium lenses are now custom-designed for individual wearers, rather than mass-manufactured.

“This requires more sophisticated equipment, greater precision and dedicated engineering support,” Hopkins said. “This is a business where half a millimeter can make a big difference.”

Carl Zeiss Vision operates 17 labs across the country, where similar downsizings have occurred over the past two years, Hopkins said.

The Chesterfield plant, at 13017 N. Kingston Ave. near the Rivers Bend development, is being reorganized at the same time as a plant in Hebron, Ky., where 65 people will lose their jobs.

The changes are occurring as a major customer recently switched vendors. EyeMed Vision Care, a managed vision care company, is using Essilor USA for its lab work instead of Carl Zeiss Vision.

“The business is changing, and we have to make adjustments,” said Hopkins, who declined to be specific.

Carl Zeiss Vision is part of Carl Zeiss AG, a group of companies operating worldwide in the optical, industrial measurement and medical devices industries.

Carl Zeiss Sports Optics’ plant in the Moorefield Park office complex off Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield makes binoculars and rifle scopes. Sports optics has not been affected by the changes in the vision business, Hopkins said.

Carl Zeiss established a presence in the Richmond area with the 1973 purchase of Titmus Optical in Petersburg. It operated a coatings lab in the facility, but later sold the Titmus business and moved to Chesterfield in 1995 under the Carl Zeiss Optical name. Carl Zeiss Optical became Carl Zeiss Vision in 2005.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/busines...2b9f12b23.html

**idispense** · 06-04-2014, 08:44 PM

Is Zeiss Independant or Essilor owned ?

**AngeHamm** · 06-05-2014, 08:59 AM

Zeiss is quite independent from Essilor.

This is a sad, sad day in Central Virginia. We have used this lab in the past but found their quality control lacking. Too many jobs were being edged off axis, off PD, or off size for frames. We still use them for the occasional special snowflake patient who can only wear a GT2.

**Uilleann** · 06-05-2014, 12:56 PM

Zeiss may not quite be the mythical 800 lb. gorilla so many here seem to fear. But they aren't far behind..I'd guess a solid 785 lbs. give or take. They have expanded SO much and SO fast into SO many market segments, that their once pristine quality and durability have taken some serious knocks over the past decade or so. And all the while, their pricing just keep climbing up past the stratosphere.

Unless you have someone who insists on the name brand, and is willing to spend a pile of wonga, there are many better options, for lots less available today.

**m0002a** · 06-05-2014, 01:29 PM

At one time, I believe Zeiss freeform lenses (ID) were surfaced only in Germany. As they expanded surfacing to multiple US locations, quality seems to have suffered substantially. Hopefully, the consolidation of surfacing labs will improve quality, as they do have some very good designs if made correctly.