Camera company keeps its eyes open

Panavision Inc., the iconic camera supplier in Woodland Hills, isn't taking any chances that there won't be a strike. The firm has contingency plans that include scaling back equipment purchases, deferring salary increases and slashing payrolls.

The experience isn't new to Panavision, which laid off about 40 workers, about 25% of its workforce, in 2001, when business dropped off amid fears of strikes by actors and writers.

Panavision also would beef up business in European countries including Poland, France and Czechoslovakia, Beitcher said. An even bigger worry, he said, is the prospect of a strike by actors next year.

"The effect of a writers strike is difficult to gauge because you don't know how many feature films are going to go forward, whereas an actors strike would be like falling off a cliff."

--

Richard Verrier