Roughly 125 workers at the Sensient Technologies Corp. plant in Indianapolis will lose their jobs following a decision by the Milwaukee-based company to move some local operations to suburban Chicago.

Sensient announced Feb. 8 that it planned to move its local Flavors & Fragrances Group at 5600 W. Raymond St. to Hoffman Estates, Ill., before mid-2014 but didn’t specify how many workers might be affected.

The company’s notice to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development on Wednesday specified that 125 local jobs would be lost. It was not immediately clear how many workers would remain in Indianapolis. Sensient employs more than 200 at its offices and production facilities on Raymond Street.

Sensient expects to begin reducing its local work force May 1 and finished by Sept. 1, the company said in the notification.

The dates could change depending on when the new facility in Illinois is completed and how many local employees accept offers to relocate, Sensient said.

Sensient, which has more than 3,900 workers worldwide, came under heavy scrutiny last year because of a legal battle with the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration over intense government scrutiny of health risks at the Indianapolis plant.

The company said in the Feb. 8 statement that it expects “to incur personnel and moving-related costs between $12 million and $14 million over the next 12 to 18 months as a result of this relocation.”

Sensient said “the relocation of the Flavors & Fragrances Group headquarters will give the company better access to its customers, improve its access to food industry talent, improve access to worldwide air service and allow it to showcase its broad product portfolio in a state-of-the-art facility.”

The Flavors & Fragrances division recently reported record revenue of $875.3 million in 2012, up from $857.5 million in 2011.