Fidelity lays off 85 in Smithfield

SMITHFIELD — Embroiled in controversy with the town of Smithfield over a zoning
board decision to permit Dow Chemical to expand its production plant near Fidelity
Investments’ campus here, and responding to the market’s prolonged slump, Fidelity
announced that it would lay off 85 of its Rhode Island employees in cutting 160
jobs overall. The laid off workers were given 60 days to apply for other jobs
within the company, Fidelity announced. Fidelity employs 1,500 workers in Smithfield
and had reported plans to expand that number to 5,000, but said after the Dow
Chemical decision that it would review those plans.