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Technology Stocks : INVX Innovex Comdex Winner !! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mark Oliver who wrote (1846)	12/11/1997 7:25:00 AM
From: Mark Oliver	Respond to of 3029

Kurt, here's another note that could be contrued however you like. I see it as a strategy move on the part of Seagate to get the cheap labor, but then it's not a good deal as they wouldn't do it if things weren't tight. INVX will benefit from the same cheap labor. Also, Hutchinson is totally US based. Good if you're a patriot, but bad for cost competition. Regards again, Mark Seagate to Close Manufacturing Facility in Clonmel, Ireland CLONMEL, Ireland, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Seagate Technology, Inc. (NYSE: SEG - news) today announced that it will close its disc drive manufacturing operations in Clonmel, Republic of Ireland. The decision comes in the face of major challenges facing the disc drive industry today, including significant overcapacity, downward pricing pressures and lower margins. The plant closure is scheduled to take place when the current product build schedule is completed in early 1998. As a result of this action, approximately 1,100 regular positions and 300 temporary positions will be eliminated in Clonmel. The Company will take a restructuring charge associated with the closure. ''This is an action we regret having to take, but is a necessary step in Seagate's efforts to remain competitive and maintain its industry leadership position in a challenging business environment,'' said Al Shugart, Seagate chairman and chief executive officer. ''A declining price structure, intense competition and increasing market fragmentation have placed increasing pressure on Seagate's operating performance, as well as that of a number of other competitors. As stated in recent weeks, Seagate has been reviewing its worldwide operations to improve efficiency, lower cost and bring capacity in line with market requirements. Despite significant efforts to reduce costs in Clonmel, the highly structured nature of disc drive assembly makes the higher costs associated with the facility extremely difficult to overcome.'' Seagate has notified the Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade, and Employment of its intention to cease manufacturing operations at its Clonmel plant. Seagate will be working in cooperation with the employees, the IDA and other local and national government representatives in Ireland to mitigate as much as possible the effects of this closure to the community. In addition to job outplacement, severance packages and other services provided to effected employees, Seagate will be offering relocation opportunities to a small number of Clonmel staff. The world's leading disc drive supplier, Seagate will continue to manufacture drives at its other assembly plants worldwide, where the Company is producing new products designed for today's Desktop, Mobile and High End computer applications. These products include 2.5-inch, 3.5-inch and 5.25-inch disc drives in capacities ranging from 2 Gigabytes to 47 Gigabytes to meet the needs of a wide variety of users and their individual information storage requirements. This press release contains forward-looking statements associated with the state of the disc drive industry, the closure of the Clonmel facility and the attendant position eliminations and restructuring charges and the Company's operational performance. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include future developments in the disc drive industry, the respective parties' cooperation in closing the Clonmel facility and the company's operational performance. Seagate undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date thereof. Seagate Technology, Inc. is a leading provider of technology and products enabling people to store, access, and manage information. The Company is committed to providing best-in-class products to help people get their information when, where and how they want it. Seagate is the world's largest manufacturer of disc drives, magnetic discs and read-write heads, a market leader in tape drives, and a leading developer of software for information availability, access and analysis. With nearly $9 billion in revenues for its 1997 fiscal year, Seagate can be found around the globe and on the World Wide Web at seagate.com.