Microsoft Corp has signed a letter of intent to sell its only production facility in the US to a unit of Japanese chemicals major Kao Corp. The unit is Kao Infosystems Co of Plymouth, Massachusetts, which is buying Microsoft’s disk duplication and software packaging plant in Bothell, Washington, which produces the majority of Microsoft’s packaged products for North America. Kao has committed to continued employment for the workers at the plant and a three-year contract to duplicate software for Microsoft. The exact price of the sale has not been worked out yet, Microsoft said. The Canyon Park operation, which employs about 400 people, will become the third West Coast software production facility for Kao. Microsoft notes that it still operates some production facilities overseas, including ones in Ireland, the Far East and Puerto Rico.
