Following a key divestiture, 3M Co. will shut the smaller of its two Austin, Texas, facilities by the end of 2019, affecting 120 workers, officials confirmed Wednesday.
The electronics plant on Research Boulevard in Austin has 120 workers who make copper and fiber connectivity products and items related to utility marking and communication headsets. The 220,000-square-foot plant will be put on the market for sale once it closes.
The jobs will be eliminated in waves over the course of 2019. Sixty-day termination notices will be issued to affected workers, said 3M spokeswoman Lori Anderson. The larger 3M Austin Center will not be affected.
She said an internal announcement of the plant closure was made on Tuesday.
Workers displaced by the plant closure can apply for positions elsewhere in 3M, Anderson said.
A "small number" of jobs eliminated from Austin might be relocated to the 3M electrical plant in New Ulm, Minn., next year, Anderson said.
Employees at the New Ulm plant were informed about the pending staff additions in a company e-mail.
Anderson noted that the decision to shut the Austin plant came after several 3M portfolio changes and after a large 3M divestiture.
In June, 3M sold its fiber optics and Communications Markets Division to Corning Inc. for $870 million. The division included the copper passive connectivity units and several structured cabling solutions products.
Dee DePass • 612-673-7725
