 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
SARS impact felt close to home
By JEFF HARRINGTON, Times Staff Writer
For 1,200 Jabil Circuit employees working in southern China, caution and fear fill the air as they solder, assemble and test electronic components. Air filters inside the company's manufacturing plants are changed more frequently. Workers are allowed to wear masks. Supervisors are on the lookout for anyone exhibiting cough or cold symptoms. And managers are quick to relay the latest advisories about severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) dispatched by the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control. Jabil has two plants in China -- in Huangpu and Panyu -- both near the origins of the deadly viral outbreak that has triggered travel advisories and spot quarantines around the globe. "Knock on wood, we've had no reported cases," said Jabil chief operating officer Mark Mondello, who works out of the company's St. Petersburg headquarters. "We feel the efforts we have taken are very prudent." Like the spreading virus itself, fear of SARS is having a growing impact on American companies. Few bay area businesses are impacted as directly as Jabil, with employees in the hardest-struck areas, but no company that relies on international travel is immune to concern. According to the Business Travel Coalition, up to 58 percent of its corporate members responding to a survey this week said they have banned travel to certain Asian countries, primarily mainland China, Singapore and Hong Kong. That's up from 27 percent in last week's survey. Increasingly, the coalition survey found, companies are also banning travel to Toronto, Canada, which has reported the most SARS cases outside Asia. Conventions and conferences overseas are feeling the impact. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, which represents about 600 securities firms worldwide, reported a raft of cancellations for its annual meeting in Tokyo this week. Fewer than 500 were expected at the conference that began Tuesday, down from nearly 700 last year in Berlin. For companies still giving employees free rein to fly to Asia, booking a flight has become the challenge. Carriers around the world are canceling empty flights, laying off workers and grappling with crews that refuse to fly to some Asian cities. To date, the respiratory disease has infected more than 2,600 people in 19 countries and killed at least 104. More than half the cases are in China. About 150 suspected cases have been documented in the United States, including five in Florida, but no U.S. deaths have been reported. Most SARS victims seem able to recover with timely hospital care, but researchers have not yet confirmed the cause of the disease or found a cure. The symptoms include fever, aches, dry cough and shortness of breath. The outbreak has prompted some interesting precautions in the business world. American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer, isn't taking any chances. It told its 80,000 employees not only to limit Asian travel but also to avoid touching handles, doorknobs and railings in "high risk areas." Some multinationals based in the bay area, such as computer reseller Tech Data Corp. of Clearwater, are not forbidding international travel because of SARS. Employees are told, however, that they can forego a trip if if they are not comfortable flying somewhere because of the outbreak. At Sykes Enterprises of Tampa, which operates call centers in China for corporate clients, travel advisories are issued to employees as often as daily. "With the areas of greater concern, including mainland China, Singapore and Hong Kong, we've certainly recommended against traveling," spokeswoman Kristin Wiemer said. Jabil eliminated all non-essential travel to and from Asia, requiring that any trips be cleared with a vice president or senior vice president. Reptron Electronics encouraged workers to limit travel since the war in Iraq began, so an added layer of concern over SARS has hardly been noticeable. "Over the last 90 days, we've had very few people that have scheduled travel," said Paul Plante, president of the Tampa electronics company. With travel concerns centered on passenger flights, none of the area companies surveyed cited any problems shipping cargo or other disruptions in their supply channel. Indeed, most companies said the effect on the bottom line has been minimal so far despite any travel headaches. Mondello of Jabil Circuit, for instance, said the travel restrictions have not impeded key suppliers to the Chinese operation. Nor apparently has the threat of SARS hampered productivity within Jabil's Chinese plants. Most workers, Mondello points out, have opted not to wear face masks for added protection. "Is it impacting our ability to do business as normal? I'd say the answer to that is absolutely not," he said. -- Times wires were used in this report. Jeff Harrington can be reached at harrington@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3407. SARS travel bans The spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome has prompted many companies to ban travel to China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam. Based on a recent survey of 144 organizations with large international travel budgets, here are the other destinations to which travel is being banned: Taiwan: listed by 27 companies Toronto: listed by 12 Thailand: listed by 7 Entire Asia Pacific: listed by 1 Source: The Business Travel Coalition
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times Business report
From the AP
| |||||||||||||||||||||
