NEC Pulls Plug on Packard Bell Brand in U.S. and Plans Major Layoffs; Technology: The onetime PC giant has suffered years of losses and cutbacks. At least 80% of its 2,600 workers will be let go.: [Home Edition]

Japan's NEC Corp. said Tuesday that it would lay off at least 80% of its staff at onetime personal computer giant Packard Bell NEC, telling the company's 2,600 remaining employees that all but 300 to 400 would be out of jobs at the end of the year.

The low-cost personal computer innovator will shut its Sacramento factory, move its headquarters from the state capital to Mountain View in Silicon Valley, and stop using the Packard Bell brand name in the U.S.

NEC's exit from the U.S. market for home computers comes at a time when the industry is being whipsawed by manufacturers of low-cost machines and those that sell directly to consumers over the Internet. Two weeks ago, IBM Corp. said it would sell its Aptiva personal computers mainly over the Web, pulling them out of most stores.

The market forces were so strong that analysts said they doubted that NEC could save the Packard Bell brand. The Japanese computer giant's managers were "trying to bail out the boat without realizing they were on the Titanic. It is very sad," said analyst Rob Enderle...