WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. computer maker Dell said it would lay off 950 workers in Winston-Salem, N.C., including 600 before the holidays as a reaction to slower demand.
Dell said by January it would close the four-year-old desktop computer factory, giving up nearly $280 million in government incentives to open the North Carolina plant, the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reported Thursday.
Putting the incentives in place required special sessions of the state's General Assembly and winning a lawsuit, which was filed challenging the state's right to lure a corporation into the state with taxpayer funds.
Dell is also abandoning an investment of about $150 million in the 750,000 square-foot facility, the newspaper said.
"This state has been hit hard, but North Carolinians are resilient, and we know how to adapt and overcome challenges," Gov. Beverly Perdue said in a statement.
"As a state, we will continue to aggressively pursue new business and job opportunities," Perdue said.
Dell spokesman David Frink said the company shuttered a desktop computer plant in its hometown of Round Rock, Texas, two years ago.
With the popularity of laptops, "there's been a distinct transition away from desktop computers," he said.
