Even as several high-tech companies in Northern Colorado have announced massive layoffs recently, others are bulking up their work forces.
At least two major employers in Northern Colorado - Intel and Kodak - are making big hiring pushes across the region.
Kodak, which employs 1,600 people at its site in Windsor, will hold a hiring fair this weekend at its facility.
The company is hiring for 40 manufacturing positions with a salary range between $10 and $12 an hour, spokeswoman Lucille Mantelli said.
Intel held a hiring fair a few weeks ago in Fort Collins and continues to look for workers to fill positions in Fort Collins and Colorado Springs, spokeswoman Judy Cara said.
Most of the positions available at Intel are manufacturing technicians with a salary range of $35,000 to $50,000 annually.
While Cara couldn't estimate how many positions the company plans to fill, one job seeker put the total between 150 and 200 positions.
That's good news for high-tech workers who are facing an increasingly competitive job market in Northern Colorado.
Hewlett-Packard Co. announced in July a major restructuring plan that includes cutting 14,500 workers companywide.
Kodak also recently announced a 10,000-person work force reduction worldwide, and Agilent said this week it will cut 1,300 jobs across the company. It's unclear how those cuts will affect workers in Northern Colorado.
Toronto-based Celestica will close its Fort Collins facility within eight months, putting 800 people out of work.
Despite bad news in the high-tech sector, some companies are quietly hiring, said Doug Johnson, co-founder of NoCoNet, a Northern Colorado job-seeking group.
"In general, I've seen an uptick, especially in the number of contract positions on the market," he said. "That's good because it's going to provide some opportunities for people."
But hiring at Intel and Kodak isn't necessarily all good news for job seekers.
Kodak's positions don't meet the salary requirements of some candidates, while the majority of Intel's positions will require moving to Colorado Springs.
"That creates the usual reaction of, 'Shucks, I don't want to move my family out of Fort Collins,' " Johnson said.
Intel is hiring largely because it's expanding its facility in Colorado Springs. In the next three years the company plans to hire several hundred people, Cara said.
The company employs about 350 people at its site in Fort Collins on HP's campus and is on the market for another site to house those workers.
"We knew that there would be some folks up there that would be seeking employment," Cara said.
Eastman Kodak's recent announcement to cut its work force by 10,000 people hasn't affected hiring in its manufacturing division, Mantelli said.
Most of the positions that will be cut from the company will be nonmanufacturing jobs.
"Our manufacturing or production levels have remained stable or increased," Mantelli said.
Mantelli said she can't remember the last time Kodak Colorado hired so many people at once.
"We haven't hired a bulk of people like this all at once for quite a while," she said.
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