HP announces plant closure

Hewlett-Packard has announced plans to close a Californian manufacturing plant which produces servers and storage products.

About 500 employees work at the Roseville plant, which makes HP 9000 servers, Intel-based servers and storage gear. Approximately 25 jobs will be cut, the company said. About 475 positions will be shifted to Houston, with workers in Roseville given priority for those openings.

In a statement, HP said: "Streamlining manufacturing will reduce our supply chain costs significantly and enhance HP's ability to deliver greater value to our customers. The Houston factory is on HP's main campus, while Roseville production is housed in leased space."

The company is starting the transition immediately, transferring production to Houston in phases with the first phase set to begin in April and the transition set to be completed later this summer.

The 300 HP employees and 200 temporary workers at the Roseville manufacturing plant will have the opportunity to transfer to Houston and will be eligible for relocation assistance, the company said. Temporary workers who transfer to Houston will have the opportunity to become regular employees, it added. HP workers will also be able to maintain their current salary level.