Motorola may close Scotland plant

Despite recent pleas from British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Motorola today proposed closing its Bathgate, Scotland, handset manufacturing facility in response to declining global demand for its mobile phones.

Though no final decision has been made, the closing would result in job losses affecting all of the site’s 3100 employees. The company said according to U.K. labor law, an elected employee-consultation body must discuss and accept the proposal’s details before the plant’s doors can be officially shut.

The move comes as part of the company’s announcement March 13 that it would cut 7000 employees worldwide in its personal communications sector. Since December, Motorola has announced more than 22,000 job cuts.

Because Motorola is one of Scotland’s largest employers, a decision to close the mobile phone facility would deal a crushing blow to the regional economy of “Silicon Glen,” the 50-mile high-tech stretch between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The Bathgate facility has received particular attention over the past two months, complete with swirling plant-closing rumors and a personal telephone call from Blair to Motorola CEO Christopher Galvin asking that the plant remain open.

In early March, Motorola said its Bathgate locations’ workers would enjoy a two-week paid holiday around Easter to slow handset production and bring inventories under control. A spokesman for Motorola in the United Kingdom and Ireland said at the time that the move did not foreshadow potential layoffs.

“Whilst we expect demand to ramp up as we introduce new products, at the moment we simply have a bit too much production capacity,” he said then.

However, a Motorola spokeswoman said today that Bathgate became a necessary target after the company announced plans for an additional 7000 layoffs on March 13.

“It’s been a very difficult decision, but this is one of the answers to [getting to] 7000,” the spokeswoman said. “At the time [of the holiday announcement] that truly was the case, but this is a very fluid process. Hopefully once we get past this 7000, it’s done.”