Business in Costa Rica: Intel outside

KARLA BLANCO started working for Intel in 1997, when the microchip giant opened its factory in the Costa Rican rainforest. She was hired as a customs and trade expert and quickly climbed the professional ladder. After 17 years with the company, Ms Blanco is one of thousands of Costa Ricans whose lives have been changed by the microchip industry. She now speaks fluent English and Portuguese, holds a master’s degree in international business and serves as Intel’s corporate affairs director for Central America and the Caribbean.The future looked bright, both for Ms Blanco and for Costa Rica. But on April 8th Intel announced plans to close its Costa Rican factory and move its operations to Malaysia, Vietnam and China. By the end of the year 1,500 jobs will have been lost. Ms Blanco has been dealing with a torrent of bewildered workers and media inquiries. “It’s been really painful,” she says.The pain will be felt across the economy. Intel’s operations in Costa Rica are worth around $2 billion a year, making up about 20% of the country’s exports. The firm accounted for 11% of net foreign direct investment in 2000-12. Intel says it will hire another 200 staff to work in its engineering and global-services units in the country, which currently employ around 1,200 people. Nonetheless Henry Mora, a congressman and economic adviser to the incoming government, estimates that the...

via The Economist: The Americas http://ift.tt/1l24JhW