Texas and Motorola - common issues
Scotland simply became uncompetitive. My father used to work at Motorola years ago and they shut that plant in 2012.
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/13233355.the_end_of_a_DREAM_IT_WAS_THE_HEART_OF_SILICON_GLEN__EMPLOYING_2500_WORKERS__NOW_THE_MOTOROLA_FACTORY_IS_A_HEAP_OF_RUBBLE/
Motorola opened the plant because of significant tax incentives and a large grant - once it was there it was worth using but it became expensive plus Motorola became uncompetitive in several markets hence they shut the loss making plants. I remember him bringing home a sample of the first 68000 wafer - streets ahead of the competition at the time.
He told me of an emergency evacuation they had - they used to use hydrofluric acid to etch the silicon in those days (early 80s) and it had a very distinctive smell. One day, through the air con vents (it was an almost sealed building, no windows) came the smell which people associated with this particular acid so an emergency evacuation took place with emergency services called etc. This acid would eat through almost anything and had to be kept in glass vessels.
After they evacuated the whole building they found a spice factory on the next trading estate had a small fire and the smell of the burning spice was similar to this acid ! It took 2 weeks to resume production after a forced shut-down.
Motorola was also where he discovered the glass ceiling - if you weren't American you'd not go above a certain level, they preferred to ship in people for director level rather than promote non-US staff.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
