Jobs on line as NEC sheds Scots plant

THE jobs of 190 computer factory workers in Scotland are under threat from plans by their Japanese bosses to close or sell the plant. NEC today said the Livingston plant, which makes 350,000 PCs a year, would close as part of a global restructuring operation.

A Malaysian factory employing 230 workers is also to shut. The company hinted at a sale of the Scottish plant, which could save some of the jobs, but warned that nothing concrete had been decided.

If the Scottish workers lose their jobs, they will be the latest victims of a major drive by Japanese technology companies to switch production to China, where low costs offer huge savings. NEC has already said it intends to base most of its production in China.

The company's profits have evaporated as demand for computers and chips has dwindled. It racked up losses of 312bn yen (£1.7bn) in the year to end-March. The slump into the red has forced NEC to initiate cost-cutting measures that include the long-term axing of 14,000 jobs from its workforce around the world.