PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) – High-tech manufacturer Flextronics International Ltd. announced the closing of its plant at the Pease International Tradeport, meaning a loss of about 300 jobs.

“Over the past three years, we have seen our business climate change in many different ways,” a letter from the company to the workers said. “Our strategy has been to develop new customers for our New Hampshire operation … but new business has not developed at a fast-enough pace or a sufficient volume to sustain our operation.”

Renee Brotherton, senior director of corporate marketing at the plant, said Tuesday that the decision to close was part of a “consolidation and integration plan.”

In the letter, the company asked employees to stay on until June 27.

to complete remaining orders.

and offered a severance package of one week’s base pay, plus a week’s pay for each of service.

The company, which is headquartered in Singapore, employs about 95,000 people in 29 countries. It makes equipment for clients including Hewlett-Packard, Palm Co. and Ericsson.

When Flextronics came to Pease in 2001, it had plans to occupy up to six buildings and establish a New England base of operations. The company built three of the buildings, but was hit hard by the technology recession and ultimately used just two of them.

By 2003, the company had trimmed back its operation to a single, 100,000-square-foot building, where employees worked on switches, routers, wireless optical technology, systems configuration and board assembly for companies like Enterasys Networks.

Last year, Flextronics cut 367 jobs in Lebanon, Tenn., as it consolidated manufacturing operations in Memphis.

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Information from: Portsmouth Herald, http://www.seacoastonline.com

AP-ES-04-28-04 0732EDT