PROVO — Five men loaded cardboard boxes into a car Wednesday afternoon in the parking lot of Novell Inc.

When the job was done, four returned to the large office building in Provo's East Bay. The other did not, and he won't be there today.

The longtime Novell employee was one of an estimated 200 local workers whose jobs were eliminated Wednesday when the Massachusetts-based software company reduced its worldwide work force by 10 percent — approximately 600 positions.

"I knew that my position was probably going to be gone a couple of months ago," the now-unemployed Utah County resident said, speaking on the condition that he remain anonymous. "I didn't know anything official until (Tuesday), but it was pretty much a foregone conclusion."

The father of a large family — even by Utah County standards — described the layoff as "stressful." His eyes filled with tears as he talked about leaving a job he has enjoyed and co-workers he cares about.

"(Novell was) really good, at least to me," he said of the layoff process. "They were very thoughtful, empathetic, helpful — a lot more than they really needed to be."

The man said he has been networking for the past couple of months in anticipation of the layoff and has some prospects for employment.

"Finding a job is a full-time job, so I need to pull together a plan to do that," he said. "You call people you know and ask them if they know of anything (available). You find out what they're doing, and you find out how out of date your address book is."

Novell employees contacted by the Deseret Morning News said those being laid off were officially notified Tuesday and Wednesday during one-on-one interviews with supervisors and company executives, and their last day of work was Wednesday. Employees whose positions were eliminated reportedly received severance packages, some of which stipulated that they not discuss the layoff with the media.

Leland Gamette, Provo's economic development director, said the loss of 200 jobs likely will have a "ripple effect" in Utah County's economy. But the economic "upturn" Utah County is experiencing "might bode well for (those laid off) as they seek to find positions elsewhere," he said.

"We're hopeful that other companies in the Utah Valley area that are in the high-tech (field) will take advantage of these skilled employees and be able to augment their employee base with very skilled and qualified people," Gamette said.

The Utah Department of Workforce Services expects to step in to provide assistance to those affected by the layoff, said Curt Stewart, public information officer.

"When something like this has happened in the past, we've been able to put together job fairs and do heavy advertising to make sure people know about it," Stewart said. "Once the news is out (about the layoff), we'll marshal our forces in Utah County."

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E-mail: jpage@desnews.com