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The Developer-December/January 2004 12/2/03 12:16 PM bearing the Mazda nameplate.The St.Paul plant will produce up to 20,000 units of the 2005 model year. The aroma of fresh bakery goods will be more difficult to find in the Twin Cities when McGlynn s Bakeries closes its four outlet stores by early December after more than 80 years of producing breads,rolls,muffins and doughnuts.Some 45 employees will be immediately affected with another 125 workers uncertain of their future.These employees work in the retail sector at sites leased by the company in grocery stores. Some may become employees of those stores losing the McGlynn bakery service. McGlynn s will focus on their frozen food products,a fast-growing segment of their product line. eFunds,a software developer providing technology solutions to a variety of businesses and government agencies,is continuing a restructuring plan including consolidation of operations and reductions in employment levels.The company laid off 180 workers in mid-September,some of whom worked at locations in Shoreview and Woodbury.This round of staff reductions also affected employees at three other sites in three states.A spokesperson indicated that more layoffs were expected.Originally founded as a part of Shoreview-based Deluxe Corporation to develop electronic storage services for customers,eFunds was spun off after several disappointing years.Now based in Arizona,the company has about 4,500 employees world-wide. Minnetonka-based Norstan Industries has announced a second round of layoffs.The full service telecommunications company will cut another 100 positions above the nearly 100 job cuts of early September.The company,in business since the early 1970s,did not indicate where the cuts would take place among its 1,400 employees in 31 locations across 14 states and four Canadian provinces but the combined effect of the two separate layoff events will affect up to 14 percent of its workforce. • Central The second-largest retailer of automotive parts in the nation will open another location in Minnesota in early December.With 2,500 retail stores in 38 states,Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands,Roanoke,VA-based Advance Auto Parts,Inc has chosen a site in St. Cloud for its third store in the state.While it has taken the 71-year old company awhile to reach Minnesota,Advance Auto opened its first two stores in smaller communities in southern Minnesota(Albert Lea and Austin)since mid-August.Advance Auto serves both the do-it-yourself and the professional mechanic with a goal to keep his/her vehicle running.A relatively small in-store sales force of 10 to 12 employees will provide expert advice on automotive questions and fast parts delivery for its customers. Needing a larger facility to replace an extrusion plant it has outgrown,Andersen Corporation looked at options which included sites in other states.The company,the world s largest producer of wood windows and doors,currently employs about 40 workers in White Bear Lake,MN.The possibility of losing these jobs and the nearly 100 additional positions that a new and larger plant would create provided the impetus for the State and North Branch,MN to put together an economic development package to keep Andersen s expansion in Minnesota.The new building site is near the plant that will close so the company will transfer the existing skilled workforce.Construction is expected to be completed by spring of next year. Southern An aging food production facility employing about 225 workers in a small community in southern Minnesota will soon be shut down.ConAgra Foods Inc,one of the country s largest packaged food companies,has announced plans to close its plant in Wells,MN by early next year.Production will be phased out over the next five months and transferred to a newer,larger site in Texas.A spokesperson indicated the Wells facility was beyond its capacity and the company was unwilling to make the necessary investment to upgrade the existing plant.Nebraska-based ConAgra has been in the food business for more than 135 years. http://www.ewald.com/EDAMENL/EDAMENL/EDAMDecJan2004/EDAMDecJan2004.htm Page 12 of 15