Intel Corp will close a factory in Shanghai in a reorganization of its China operations this year that will shift work to plants in other cities, the company said yesterday.
About 2,000 workers will be affected by the decision to move Intel’s chip assembly and testing operations to Chengdu from Shanghai’s Pudong district, the company said in a statement on its Chinese-language Web site.
The plan is meant to optimize the company’s manufacturing resources in China, it said.
Intel, the world’s largest semiconductor company, said it would keep its China headquarters and a research and development facility in Shanghai.
Shanghai employees affected by the move will be offered the chance to relocate to Chengdu or to a factory now under construction in the port city of Dalian, Intel said.
Santa Clara, California-based Intel underscored its commitment to China by raising its investment in Intel China Ltd, its Shanghai-based investment holding company, by US$110 million this year.
Intel’s research center in Beijing and its Intel Capital China Fund II will not be affected by the reorganization, the company said.
Last month, Intel said it planned to cut up to 6,000 manufacturing jobs as the company struggles with souring personal computer demand that has left its factories operating at less than full capacity. The company recently reported a 90 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit.
The earlier job cuts included closing three “assembly test” facilities in Malaysia and the Philippines for testing.
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Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
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Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day