Digital Equipment Corp announced yesterday that the high cost of manufacturing in Germany will force it to close its disk drive plant in Kaufbeuren by next June. The plant employs 600 people, and DEC says that since disk drives have become low-margin commodity products requiring less complex manufacturing processes, it has been left with an excess capacity in high cost-high capability storage manufacturing, according to the company. The company says its strategy is to position our manufacturing capacity where we can make optimal use of our assets. It is on the basis of this strategic intent that we have made this difficult decision to close the Kaufbeuren plant.
