Motorola Inc yesterday brought a wee dram of cheer to Scotland’s Silicon Glen when it announced that it was investing a further UKP250m – $387m – to expand production at its East Kilbride chip plant. The expansion will create 250 more jobs in the region by the end of 1996 and marks the second largest inward investment ever made in the UK after Toyota Motor Corp’s decision to build its UKP700m European production plant in Derbyshire five years ago. Motorola announced the planned expansion at the official opening of the new UKP50m semiconductor fabrication facility in the Glasgow suburb. Motorola already employs some 2,300 people in the town, and 2,000 more at plants in Livingston and Easter; the planned investment will enable it to fabricate the most complex silicon wafers ever made in Europe.
