Toyota will spend much of 2017 winding down its operation in Erlanger as part of the company’s relocation to Texas.

In a layoff notice sent to Kentucky officials, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing said Monday it would shutter its Northern Kentucky headquarters by the end of 2017. Toyota, which is moving its facilities from 25 Atlantic Ave. to the Dallas suburb of Plano, said the move will affect 648 workers.

The workforce reduction in Erlanger is expected to begin Jan. 3 and continue through the end of 2018, according to the company.

Toyota announced in April 2014 it would close its Erlanger facility and relocate workers to Texas, Michigan or its manufacturing facility in Georgetown, Kentucky. By the time the Erlanger facility is closed, Toyota will have moved about 1,600 jobs out of Northern Kentucky.

“A large number of TEMA’s approximately 1,500 team members have either already relocated to temporary offices in Plano, York Township, and Georgetown or will do so when space is available,” a company statement said.

Erlanger has been home to the Japanese automaker’s North American engineering and manufacturing headquarters since 1996. Toyota, in its decision to move to Texas, studied how it could make its North American operations more efficient and it decided to consolidate work being done in California, Kentucky and New York. The Georgetown plant is its largest in North America.

“Although Toyota’s Erlanger-based headquarters will eventually move, we know that a continued strong presence in Kentucky is central to Toyota’s ongoing success,” Toyota North America CEO James Lentz said in a letter to then Gov. Steve Beshear in 2014. “We want to make clear that Toyota’s roots will remain deep in this state, and we plan to maintain a strong presence in Kentucky for decades to come.”

Toyota has been a source of pride for Northern Kentucky since the Japanese automaker opened its Erlanger offices. The internationally respected company helped give Northern Kentucky its own business identity. Political and business leaders could tout the Toyota brand in their efforts to try to bring more companies to Northern Kentucky.

The company has been an active participant in philanthropy in Kentucky and it is also one of the biggest taxpayers in the city of Erlanger.

Enquirer archives contributed to this report.