Columbia's 3M manufacturing plant announced Monday it will lay off 124 workers within the next two months, marking the largest single round of layoffs in the plant's 33-year history.

The plant, which employs 741 local workers, will eliminate jobs of some salaried workers and lay off other employees paid on a per-hour basis, said spokesman Bill Nelson. Company officials said the move, which will affect 17 percent of the plant's total work force, is a reaction to the recession and the struggling electronics and telecommunications markets.