Company to shift production to China, the Philippines, Thailand in move to save $300M Hitachi Global Storage Technologies plans to close a manufacturing plant in Mexico and lay off around 11 percent of its 40,000-person global workforce in a bid to shore up its hard disc drive (HDD) operations.The company expects the moves to save it $300 million over the next five years through streamlined operations and better efficiency, it said in a statement Thursday.The plan is expected to be completed by the end of 2008. By the middle of that year, Hitachi expects to have shut down an HDD component factory in Guadalajara, Mexico, and phase out the production of media components at its Odawara, Japan, operation, it said.The company will shift some production to factories in China, the Philippines, and Thailand. Hitachi’s U.S. operations, located in San Jose, California, will continue to produce media components for the company.The moves underscore Hitachi’s long term commitment to the hard disc drive business, it said in the statement. Technology IndustryData Management