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Still shaking from aftershocks but with the cleanup from the first major quake well under way, businesses across the San Fernando Valley struggled to get back to business Thursday and put the worst behind them.
At Packard Bell's six-building headquarters complex in Chatsworth, movers were busy loading files and equipment. For months the personal computer maker has been negotiating with several states about relocating its operations and 1,500 jobs, but the quake put those plans on hold.
Packard Bell said it was now moving its headquarters and part of its production to Westlake Village, where it will stay for at least a year before consolidating all of its operations under one roof, presumably somewhere else.
"This wasn't our original plan," said Mal Ransom, Packard Bell's vice president of marketing. Ransom said the company had called back 350 workers so far, and most are expected to return next week.
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Moving plans will also be delayed for about 2,000 employees at the U.S. Postal Service's mail-processing center in Van Nuys. The center, which sorts letters from the Valley area, was supposed to move to a new $100-million-plus complex in the Santa Clarita Valley this April.
But postal officials said that facility sustained heavy damage, including broken water pipes and cracked floors. Spokeswoman Terri Bouffiou said she had no idea when the move would be made.