A massive Dell Inc. computer assembly plant once seen as a job generator worthy of the promise of more than $300 million in state and local inducements will go dark in four months, a victim of new corporate calculations and changing customer tastes. Dell announced Wednesday it will close its desktop computer manufacturing plant near Winston-Salem by the end of January, shedding 905 workers. The announcement came two days after the plant, which produces desktop units primarily for business customers, marked four years in operation. Five years ago, politicians cited studies estimating the plant would not only employ 1,500 and generate about 500 more related jobs, it would have a $24.5 billion economic impact over 20 years. For that reason, they lavished what by some measures was the richest incentives package in state history — a deal worth up to $318 million in tax breaks and grants. Since then, consumers moving to laptops and handheld devices have thinned a market for

desktops that has also been battered by the recession and sharper competition. “If you look at it from a holistic perspective, this is a desktop manufacturing facility and we’ve seen the customer prefer laptop computers,” Dell spokesman Venancio Figueroa said. “Given the dynamics at play across the landscape, we made the difficult decision to shut this down.” The Round Rock, Texas-based company said it was part of an effort to simplify operations and improve efficiency, while retaining U.S. plants in Miami, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Austin, Texas. The company had announced a drive to save $4 billion a year by 2011. Dell previously sold its Lebanon, Tenn., remanufacturing plant in June and is moving its Ireland manufacturing operations to Poland. Dell is also joining fellow tech bellwethers Hewlett-Packard and IBM in moving away from hardware and into more profitable technology services. Dell said last month…

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Changing Focus Leads Dell To Close NC Plant