Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd. is taking all of the manufacturing jobs at its lawn and garden tool plant in Pickens -- 320 of them -- to China because costs are less there, a company spokesman said Thursday.

"It's about global positioning of resources, and trying to be able to compete with the lowest price, and it can be manufactured there less expensively," spokesman Mark Eber said.

He said 146 employees will remain at the plant to refurbish tools returned by consumers.

The layoff will occur in phases, and the company expects to complete it by December, Eber said.

The plant assembles string trimmers and produces leaf blowers and chain saws sold under the Ryobi and Homelite brands.

Hong Kong-based Techtronic acquired the plant -- as well as a sales, marketing and distribution center in Anderson -- from Japan-based Ryobi Ltd. in 2000.

At the time, the Pickens plant employed 715 permanent and 225 temporary workers and made a range of power tools. David Butts, Techtronic's vice president of business development, said at the time the company had no plans for layoffs.

Techtronic continues to operate the Anderson facility and employs about 750 full-time employees there, Eber said. Its Upstate payroll, even after the layoffs, will be about $50 million a year, he said.

Also Thursday, Techtronic reported record earnings of $58.6 million for the six months ended June 30, a 53 percent increase from the same period last year.

Horst Pudwill, chairman and chief executive, said the company enjoyed double-digit growth in revenue and profits across all lines of business and markets.

Techtronic said its outdoor power equipment division, which includes the tools made in Pickens, "delivered excellent growth in the first half of the year."