The chip plant building has been around since the early 1980s. Texas Instruments has owned the property since 1996, which it acquired from Silicon Systems Inc. A source at Texas Instruments tells GlobeSt.com the company will be actively marketing the land, the building and the equipment within it, and hopes to quickly find a buyer who will bring the facilities back into production.

TI's real estate director Randy Welch says whether the company hires and independent broker depends on interest. "We've already had all kinds of interest this morning," says Welch, who can be reached at (972) 927-2440.

The layoffs resulting from the plant's closure represent slightly more than 1% of Texas Instrument's worldwide work force of 42,481 as of Dec. 31. The company plans to shave its payroll further with a hiring freeze and early retirement offers. In the last week, computer giant Intel Corp. and computer networking titan Cisco Systems Inc. have announced that they will eliminate up to 13,000 jobs this year.

The production at the Santa Cruz plant is being shifted to Dallas and Houston. The Santa Cruz closure will leave Texas Instruments with 13 other chip plants, including five US locations.