Intel (INTC 1.77%) informed employees on Wednesday at its FAB 17 semiconductor facility in Hudson, Massachusetts, that it will close the plant by the end of 2014. The plant manufactures 200mm water fab semiconductors, and is the last operational plant of that type for Intel.
Chuck Mulloy of the Intel press team informed the Motley Fool that, in the near term, 100 of the plant's 700 total employees will be given redeployment opportunities to stay with the company, or accept a severance package. The remaining 600 have been given the option to stay with Intel until the plant closes.
The company's desire is to sell the facility, and its decision to close the plant, which it has owned since 1998, was due to its current inability to meet the long-term needs of Intel. Intel hopes the If it is unable to sell the plant, it will continue to run at its current capacity fulfilling contractual obligations for customers while also building toward the end-of-life cycle for certain products.
Intel also operates a microprocessor design center in Hudson that currently has 850 employees that will not be affected by the closing of the FAB 17 plant.
