RIO RANCHO, N.M., May 2 (UPI) -- Intel Corp. plans to lay off more than 1,000 workers when it stops making flash memory chips at an outdated Rio Rancho, N.M., plant, the company said.
The world's largest semiconductor company employs 1,500 to 2,000 people at its Fab 11 plant, northwest of Albuquerque.
The layoffs, largely of engineers and technicians, are to begin in August.
Some workers will be moved to Intel's Fab 11x plant next door, which Intel is retooling at a cost of $1 billion to make next-generation processors, The Albuquerque Journal reported.
Intel has been losing money on its flash products for years, PC World reported. The processors store data in devices such as cell phones and digital cameras and can improve the efficiency of PC hard drives.
Intel will continue selling flash chips made at other factories, but sees rising demand for memory chips made with more efficient components as small as 65 billionths of a meter, PC World said.
