U.S. hard disk maker Seagate Technology Ltd. (STX) Tuesday said it will close its Singapore hard disk drive manufacturing plant by the end of next year and lay off 2,000 workers as a result.

Seagate said in a statement that it will relocate its hard disk manufacturing operations in Singapore to other existing sites. It did not disclose how many workers are employed at the plant that will be closed.

"This consolidation is necessary in order for Seagate to further increase efficiency and reduce costs by leveraging investments across fewer manufacturing sites," the company said.

Seagate expects to save roughly $40 million a year through the plant closure when the restructuring is complete, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The workers being laid off will be offered severance benefits in line with company policy, according to the company's statement. The company said it is also "giving every consideration" to relocating some employees to other Singapore operations.

The company expects to record a total of $80 million in restructuring charges related to the plant closure, including $60 million in severance charges for its current fiscal first-quarter 2010.

The remaining $20 million in restructuring charges is expected to be recorded through the rest of the fiscal year.

Seagate also said it will maintain its Asia international headquarters in Singapore, as well as its media operation and product development and design center in the country.

Seagate shares were recently down 1.1% to $12.20 in pre-market trading.

The statement from Seagate confirms an earlier report of the plant closure on the Web site of Singapore's Straits Times newspaper.

-By Se Young Lee, Dow Jones Newswires; +65 6415 4155; vincent.lee@dowjones.com

(Jerry A. DiColo contributed to this report.)