Local Companies to Lay Off More Than 200

Two companies have announced layoffs of 210 employees and a third will transfer more than 60 employees to an outside provider. Encore Repair Services notified California’s Employment Development Department in a letter that it plans to close its Simi Valley facility at 2175 Agate Court and move it to East Dundee, Ill. where the company is headquartered. Encore Repair said the decision will eliminate 116 jobs as of Feb. 17. It repairs mobile devices, sells refurbished ones and does trade-ins, with locations in Minnesota, Canada, Hong Kong and Vietnam. Meanwhile, Prospect Mortgage, a residential mortgage lender in Sherman Oaks backed by a private equity firm, announced that it will lay off about 94 employees as of Jan. 31 in its letter to the state’s employment department. The state requires employers to notify it of large layoffs. The lay offs are due to the purchase of Prospect by Iselin, N.J. non-bank lender HomeBridge Financial Services Inc. and the anticipated overlaps in services once the two companies merge, Prospect said in an email to the Business Journal. The company expects the deal to close in mid to late January. And in Santa Clarita, Princess Cruise Lines Ltd. plans to outsource 61 information technology positions as of Feb. 4, the company told the state’s EDD. Those employees will be hired by Princess’s new service provider, Capgemini, a division of Cap Gemini SA in Paris, according to an emailed statement from Princess’s parent company, Carnival Corp., to the Business Journal. “Carnival Corp. is transitioning a portion of the company’s IT operations to a leading technology firm to help strengthen its operation and keep pace with the evolving technology environment,” Carnival wrote. “All impacted individuals are being offered employment with Capgemini, which operates offices in 36 cities in 15 states throughout the U.S., including four offices in Florida. In addition, these individuals also can also seek other career opportunities within Carnival Corporation.” Encore Repair did not return calls for comment in time for publication.