Technology giant Samsung plans to shut down an Austin research and development facility project and lay off nearly 300 workers, according to documents filed with the state of Texas.

Samsung is shutting down the Central Processing Unit project at its Samsung Austin Research Center, according to a WARN letter filed with the Texas Workforce Commission. That will result in 290 employees being laid off, according to the letter.

A WARN letter, which stands for Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, is a federally mandated notice employers must provide to state governments in the event of major layoffs.

The layoffs will be effective Dec. 31 and are permanent, according to the WARN letter. The affected employees do not have bumping rights, according to the letter.

Samsung also said in the WARN letter that layoffs would affect the Advanced Computer Lab in San Jose, Calif. It was unclear from the WARN letter how many of the 290 layoffs would be in Austin and how many in California.

Michele Glaze, a spokeswoman for Samsung Austin, told the American-Statesman that the company’s Austin manufacturing facility, which employs about 3,000 people, will not be affected by the layoffs.

“There will be no impact to the Samsung Austin Semiconductor manufacturing facility,” Glaze said.

Glaze said Samsung’s decision to lay off workers was based on a thorough assessment of its business and its need to stay competitive in the market.

“We have treated all employees with respect. They all have been given appropriate packages and advanced notice,” Glaze said. “These things are very tough. People always wonder, ‘Did they treat them right?’ And we did. It’s unfortunate that they are losing their jobs, but it is based upon the fact that we’re always assessing our business.”

Industry analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights and Strategy said he had heard speculation about possible layoffs tied to Samsung’s CPU project over the past month or so.

Moorhead said that for the project, Samsung had licensed some intellectual property from Arm Holdings, a U.K.-based semiconductor design company, which also has an office in Austin.

“Their last few custom CPUs, they were powerful, but they pulled a lot of power,” Moorhead said. “What (Samsung) is going to do now is actually license the design, not just the IP from Arm.”

Moorhead said the employees who were part of Samsung’s CPU project are “highly employable,” given their backgrounds in engineering and design.

Samsung is the world’s biggest producer of smartphone screens, semiconductors and mobile phones. The company has a significant presence in Austin, where it has had operations since 1997. Samsung has invested $17 billion in its Austin campus through the years, according to the company.

Correction: This report and its headline have been updated to correctly describe the terms in the WARN letter mentioned in the article. Layoffs will affect 290 employees involved in the project, but facilities will remain open.