NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) -- German company Siemens AG sold its Newport News fuel injector plant this week to German tiremaker Continental AG as part of a deal worth 16.7 billion dollars.

The Newport News factory employs 715 workers, but company officials said yesterday that no layoffs are expected as a result of the sale.

But Continental spokesman Brad Warner said long-term market forces in the struggling automotive sector could force the company to re-evaluate staffing during the Siemens-Continental transition.

Warner said, though, that in the near term, "nothing will be changing in Newport News except the sign on the outside of the building."

The Newport News location produces fuel injectors and related parts, most of which are sold to Chrysler, General Motors and Ford.

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