Texas Instruments Closing, Selling Santa Cruz Chip Plant

SANTA CRUZ, CA-Texas Instruments Inc. tells GlobeSt.com it is seeking buyers for its 242,000-sf chip plant situated on 18 acres here in Santa Cruz. The Dallas-based company said Wednesday it is closing the plant later this year and will lay off about 600 workers as part of a cost cutting undertaken to offset a steep drop in revenue.

The chip plant building has been around since the early 1980s. Texas Instruments has owned the property since 1996, which it acquired from Silicon Systems Inc. A source at Texas Instruments tells GlobeSt.com the company will be actively marketing the land, the building and the equipment within it, and hopes to quickly find a buyer who will bring the facilities back into production.

TI’s real estate director Randy Welch says whether the company hires and independent broker depends on interest. “We’ve already had all kinds of interest this morning,” says Welch, who can be reached at (972) 927-2440.