Japanese chemical and industrial firm Kao Corp plans to cut its annual worldwide production of floppy disks in half, to about 200 million, by ceasing production in the US. Rapidly declining profit margins due to the adoption of optical data storage media led to the decision. The Tokyo-based company currently makes floppy disks in three countries. It will close the largest disk facility, in Plymouth, Massachusetts, but keep two others in Canada and Spain running. Ending disk production at the US plant will result in a one-time charge of about 20 billion yen ($160m) for the current fiscal year, ending in March. Kao first began manufacturing disks in 1986 and saw solid profits until about two years ago.
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