Tough times for Seagate Technology? Word just out has announced the company is closing its northern Ireland plant, eliminating 780 jobs. Official Seagate company line on the move: it is part of the company's effort to streamline operations, and the plant affected was "no longer competitive from a business standpoint" according to Woody Monroy, Seagate spokesperson. The plant manufactured substrate materials used in hard drive disks. The company has seen higher demand for its products this year, but competitive pricing has put a damper on that growth and kept profits low. Still, the company is posting strong numbers - it posted fiscal-quarter earnings 18 times those of the previous fiscal-period year.