Oh noes. Noah, what’s the deal?
Seagate to close Pittsburgh center
Thursday, September 18, 2008
By Elwin Green, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette
Seagate plans to close its research center, which is in the Strip District.Computer hard drive giant Seagate Technologies is planning a "phased closure" of its Pittsburgh research center, located in the Strip District. The shutdown will be complete by June.“In order to enhance the speed, flexibility and cost efficiency with which our R&D investment is turned into time-to-market products, Seagate is integrating the activities of its Pittsburgh research facility into other existing research and development facilities we have in the U.S.,” spokesman Forrest Monroy said in an e-mail to the Post-Gazette.
The company employs 159 in the facility, which opened in August 2002 near the Allegheny River. The closure process will begin in February.
“The Pittsburgh R&D team has made a valuable contribution to Seagate and to the hard drive industry, and we will make every effort to mitigate the impact of this action on our employees here, including a competitive severance package and outplacement assistance,” Mr. Monroy said.
Mr. Monroy said that the company does not yet know how many Pittsburgh employees will be offered positions at Seagate’s other research facilities.
The impact of the closure will go beyond the employees themselves.
The vacating of a large, six-year-old office building will challenge Pittsburgh’s commercial real estate market.
“Nobody likes to see a tenant like that leave,” said Gerry McLaughlin, vice president at Grubb & Ellis. But, he said, “the market has been getting better and better over the last couple of years and we’ll be able to absorb that space when it comes online.”
“It’s a very viable building for any large users that are out there.”