Bad news for the Massachusetts cleantech industry—and a lot of factory workers. Marlboro, MA-based Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ: ESLR), a developer and manufacturer of solar panels, said today it will shut down its manufacturing plant in Devens, MA, and lay off 800 workers there by the end of the first quarter of 2011.

The plant represented a great hope for the state’s renewable energy industry when it opened back in 2008, but the writing has been on the wall for some time now. In late 2009, Evergreen Solar said it would move some of its solar panel production from Massachusetts to China for economic reasons. And the company has been losing money because of falling prices in the solar industry, as well as fierce competition from overseas.

“Although production costs at our Devens facility have steadily decreased, and are now below originally planned levels and lower than most western manufacturers, they are still much higher than those of our low cost competitors in China,” said Evergreen CEO Michael El-Hillow in a statement. “We have consistently stated during quarterly conference calls throughout 2010 that we would continue to manufacture in Devens as long as it was economically feasible.”

Apparently that is no longer the case. But Evergreen said it will continue to operate its plants in Midland, MI, and Wuhan, China. El-Hillow joined Evergreen in September, after former chief executive Richard Feldt left to become the CEO of Advanced Electron Beams.

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Cambridge, MA-based Allurent, an online-shopping software startup, has closed down sometime in the past month, according to a report in the Boston Globe. The article says the company was in discussions with a potential acquirer until the end. Xconomy first reported on Allurent back in 2007, when the startup had just closed financing from Polaris Venture Partners. Last year, Allurent co-founder Joe Chung passed the CEO baton to Graeme Grant and became executive chairman of the firm. More recently, Chung and fellow Art Technology Group founder Jeet Singh have started working on a stealthy startup code-named Redstar. Allurent has been shrinking over the past few months as Polaris’s Dogpatch Labs incubator has expanded within its office space near Kendall Square.

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Portland, OR-based Platial, a social mapping startup, is shutting its doors, according to a blog post on the site. The news was reported yesterday by paidContent, TechCrunch, GigaOm, and others. Platial was backed by Kleiner Perkins, Keynote Ventures, Ron Conway, and other investors.

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Sony Ericsson, the London-based mobile handset maker, is shutting its Seattle-area office, as first reported by Engadget and Triangle Business Journal. Sony Ericsson is cutting about 2,000 out of 9,900 jobs globally, including closing offices in Research Triangle Park, San Diego, Miami, Kista, Sweden, and Chennai, India. The moves are part of a company-wide restructuring that includes moving its North American headquarters from Research Triangle Park to Atlanta, GA.

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Seattle-based Cray (NASDAQ: CRAY), the supercomputing company, announced late last week it has acquired the PathScale Compiler Suite assets from Maynard, MA-based SiCortex. Financial details were not released. SiCortex shut down in May. The purchase could help Cray improve its own compiler technology, as well as give PathScale customers a way to move forward on Cray supercomputers.

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Portland, OR-based SplashCast, a digital media and social TV startup, is closing down in the next few weeks, according to a blog post from founder and CEO Michael Berkley. In June, we reported the company was looking for a buyer after struggling to raise a Series B funding round. SplashCast was founded in 2006 and raised $4 million from angel investors.

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Don’t let this summer heat wave fool you. It’s still bitterly cold in job land. Despite Wade’s optimistic report this morning on local companies with open positions, a lot of Seattle-area tech and life sciences firms are still heading in the opposite direction. In the past month, we’ve seen layoffs, big and small, across the software and biotech industries.

Here are a few that we’ve heard about (you can view our updated list of layoffs since June 2008 here):

—Internet search giant Google has laid off a “large number” of contractors and full-time employees at its offices in Seattle and Kirkland, according to reports in Examiner.com and WebGuild Silicon Valley. Google did not reply to e-mails requesting comment.

—Seattle-based social publishing startup Wetpaint laid off 15 employees, or 27 percent of its staff, leaving the company with about 40 people. A Wetpaint spokesperson confirmed the news, saying, “The ad market continues to be tough and the long tail seems to be taking the brunt of it.” The layoff was first reported by TechFlash.

—Redmond, WA-based Sampa, a small Internet startup focused on helping families create websites, announced it is closing down as of Aug. 17. Founder Marcelo Calbucci said the company ran out of money and its business models didn’t work out.

—Targeted Genetics (NASDAQ: TGEN), a Seattle-based developer of gene therapies, said it is cutting more than half of its workforce by the end of this month in an effort to survive into August. The biotech firm said it would be down to 10 to 15 employees, as compared with 35 on May 1. On Friday, Targeted Genetics said it has amended its lease to get a reduced rate through August.

—Two Seattle institutions, RealNetworks and Vulcan, laid off a small percentage of workers in June. RealNetworks cut fewer than 10 positions in its media software group, while Paul Allen’s Vulcan cut 17 employees in its technical department. The news was reported by TechFlash here and here. Both firms are coming off of larger layoffs last winter; Real cut 130 positions (39 in Seattle) in December, while Vulcan laid off 50 in January.

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Redmond, WA-based Sampa, a startup that helps people build family websites, announced it is shutting down on August 17, 2009. Sampa founder and former Microsoftie Marcelo Calbucci, who also leads the Seattle 2.0 startup site, says that the company ran out of money and its business models didn’t work out. Calbucci also has an extensive blog post detailing the ideas behind Sampa and the history of the business. In an e-mail, he said he won’t pursue Seattle 2.0 full-time, and will be looking to launch another startup.

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Microsoft announced today that it will stop selling its personal finance program, MS Money, at the end of this month.  The Redmond, WA-based company cited banks and websites which provide similar services as the reason for discontinuing the program, which had already been removed from retail stores last year and is available only online.  This is the latest in a series of cost-cutting closures by Microsoft, which has recently shut down its encyclopedia Encarta, antivirus software Windows OneCare, and Digital Image Suite, a photo manipulation program.

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Finnish mobile giant Nokia (NYSE: NOK) said today it is halting investment in its first big Internet services effort, built around technology from the Seattle firm Twango, which it bought in 2007. As part of this strategic shift, Nokia is closing its office in Kirkland, WA, but says it is keeping the photo and video sharing service, called Ovi Share (ovi means “door” in Finnish), in its current state. The closure news was first reported by TechFlash.

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Bellevue, WA-based Zango, an adware maker that refocused its business on a toolbar gaming system last year, has officially closed down, says co-founder Ken Smith in his blog. San Francisco-based Blinkx, a video search firm, has acquired some of Zango’s assets, according to reports in ComputerWorld and TechFlash.

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Santa Clara, CA-based Nethra Imaging announced it has acquired the assets of Ambric, the Beaverton, OR, semiconductor company that ceased operations last November. Financial terms were not disclosed. Ambric developed software-programmable chips used in video coding, wireless base stations, and imaging. It was backed by OVP Venture Partners, Northwest Technology Ventures, and others.

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In the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen further bloodletting in terms of area tech-company layoffs and closures. It really is brutal out there. Here is a quick recap:

—Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a maker of batteries and energy storage devices in Alpharetta, GA, closed its facility in Sumner, WA, and laid off 43 workers earlier this week. The staff cuts were effective immediately.

—Bellevue, WA-based travel site Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) laid off an undisclosed number of workers about two weeks ago. The latest staff cuts came on the heels of another layoff (numbers also not disclosed) at the company in February.

—Seattle-based Impinj, the maker of novel radio frequency identification technologies, laid off 23 workers (or about 18 percent of its staff of 130) two weeks ago. Xconomy profiled the company’s strategy in February.

—Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA), the software and networking giant, laid off 24 employees in Bellevue, WA, earlier this week. The staff cuts are effective May 30.

—Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is laying off two employees at its Seattle facility near the International District, effective June 30, according to the Washington State Employment Security Department.

—Microsoft is also shutting down MSN Encarta, its online encyclopedia site, as of October 31, 2009. The move is viewed as a response to the changing nature of reference materials and information access, thanks to competing sites like Wikipedia.

—Seattle-based Trusera, the online community healthcare startup founded by ex-Amazon exec Keith Schorsch, said it may close at the end of April unless it can raise more funding in a hurry. Trusera began in early 2007, raised $2 million in angel funding that summer, and rolled out its public site in June 2008.

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Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) has laid off 24 workers in Bellevue, WA, effective May 30, 2009, according to a notice from the Washington State Employment Security Department. Meanwhile, Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a maker of batteries and other energy-storage devices, has closed its facility in Sumner, WA, and has laid off 43 workers, effective immediately.

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Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced today it is shutting down MSN Encarta, its online encyclopedia, as of October 31, 2009. The news was first reported by Ars Technica. Microsoft says, “The category of traditional encyclopedias and reference material has changed”—which seems to refer to online sites like Wikipedia and Google—and that the company will “develop future technology solutions” to give people better access to information.

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At least five area companies that we watch at Xconomy have had significant layoffs in the past two weeks. They span the fields of energy, biotech, hardware, and software. The sad part is that none of these cases is particularly surprising. You can check our updated list of tech and life sciences layoffs in the Northwest here.

Here’s a roundup of the carnage from the past couple of weeks:

—Imperium Renewables announced yesterday it has laid off 24 workers at its biodiesel production facility in Grays Harbor, WA. (An undisclosed number of employees remain there.) The company said the cuts were made because of reduced demand for biodiesel, high feedstock prices, and highly volatile petroleum fuel markets. “These are difficult choices that will allow Imperium to survive and grow when the market turns around for the biofuels industry,” said John Plaza, founder and CEO of Imperium, in a statement. “We understand this is a difficult blow to the Grays Harbor community. We remain committed to Grays Harbor and are doing everything we can to reverse the course our industry has taken.”

—Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CTIC) in Seattle cut 34 jobs, or about 28 percent of its workforce, leaving it with about 88 employees, as Luke reported last week. The move is connected to the biotech firm’s sale of its lone approved cancer drug, Zevalin. Cell Therapeutics has run dangerously low on cash. Two weeks ago, the company said it is closing its drug research center in Bresso, Italy, where it has 62 employees.

—Seattle-based Daptiv, which makes online project management software, cut about 24 positions two weeks ago, as reported by John Cook of TechFlash. The layoff leaves the company with about 100 employees. Daptiv was founded in 1997 (as eProject), and helps businesses manage their tasks, resources, documents, and portfolios.

—Spokane, WA-based General Dynamics Itronix, a maker of rugged laptops and mobile devices for field use, is closing its facility in Spokane Valley, which employs 353 people. The closure is effective April 24. The company has offices in Canada and Europe as well.

—Seattle-based Trubion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: TRBN) cut a quarter of its workforce (about 25 jobs) two weeks ago, leaving it with a staff of about 75, as Luke reported. The move affects most areas of the company, and is part of a restructuring designed to invest in near-term opportunities such as a drug candidate for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Trubion says the cuts will help it conserve enough cash to operate into the second half of 2010.

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It’s rough out there, as everyone knows. Yesterday, Dow Jones VentureWire ran a story about venture-backed companies that have shut down this year. Their list includes three Seattle-area firms. Before we see too many more of these reports, Xconomy would like to start gathering lessons learned from startups, investors, and observers. Many people still seem worried about the stigma of failure, even though it’s a normal (and necessary) part of a healthy ecosystem. We want to hear your stories.

—Bellevue, WA-based Sotto Wireless has been winding down operations for the past eight months and is now out of business, according to VentureWire. The wireless service provider, led by former McCaw Cellular exec Rod Nelson, was developing software to help mobile devices connect to cell and broadband networks as you move around. Sotto had raised nearly $14 million in venture funding from Bellevue-based Ignition Partners and Silicon Valley-based VantagePoint Venture Partners. That includes an $8 million Series A round in 2006.

It’s obviously a setback for Ignition and VantagePoint. But in the past two weeks, Ignition—which has taken its lumps lately, having backed the bankrupt Seattle firm Entellium—has invested in California startups Enclarity and Zenprise. And VantagePoint recently raised $435 million for its second venture fund; one of the firm’s focus areas is cleantech and alternative energy.

—Seattle-based TeachFirst, an educational training company, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, according to VentureWire. The company was founded in 2000 by Sandi Everlove and Don Nielsen, to improve teacher training and student learning by using video libraries and collaboration resources. TeachFirst was backed by angel investors and small funds with an educational focus.

—Redmond, WA-based Ultreo, maker of an electric toothbrush that uses ultrasound to help clean your teeth, has closed after failing to find a buyer or additional investor, according to VentureWire. (Northwest Innovation reported the company auctioned off its assets last month.) Ultreo was founded in 2003 and had raised some $28 million in venture funding, including an $11.3 million investment in May 2007 from Polaris Venture Partners, Buerk Dale Victor, WRF Capital, and angel investors. Led by Jack Gallagher, Ultreo competed with industry leader Sonicare, which is owned by Royal Philips Electronics, in the sonic toothbrush market.

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General Dynamics Itronix, a manufacturer of laptops and mobile devices for field use, is closing its facility in Spokane Valley, WA, according to the Washington State Employment Security Department. The closure, which is effective April 24, 2009, affects 353 people. General Dynamics Itronix is based in Spokane and has offices in Canada and Europe.

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TTM Technologies, a Santa Ana, CA-based maker of printed circuit boards for electronics, is closing its facility in Redmond, WA, according to the Washington State Employment Security Department. The closure affects 369 workers, and is effective March 16, 2009. TTM has about 4,000 employees, spread among its facilities in California, Washington, Utah, Connecticut, Wisconsin, and China.

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Intel announced it will stop production at its 200-mm wafer fabrication plant in Hillsboro, OR, later this year. The move is part of a plan to consolidate manufacturing and test facilities worldwide. Four other Intel plants in Santa Clara, CA, Malaysia, and the Philippines are also slated to close. The restructuring will affect between 5,000 and 6,000 employees worldwide, some of whom will be offered jobs at other facilities, according to Intel.

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