HTC Corp (宏達電), Taiwan’s largest vendor of mobile phones, increased its workforce by almost half last year as handset sales helped the company weather an economic slump that’s forcing electronics makers to cut jobs worldwide.
HTC, maker of the first phone using Google Inc’s Android software, increased its headcount 46 percent to 9,353 by the end of last year, the Taoyuan-based company’s said in its annual financial report. Revenue climbed 29 percent while profit slipped 1.3 percent for the period.
Microsoft Corp, Sony Corp, and NEC Corp are among companies planning to eliminate tens of thousands of jobs as the global recession drives down demand for TVs, cameras and other consumer electronics. The bigger roster may help HTC produce more models as it seeks to boost sales worldwide.
“They made a lot of investments last year to expand their portfolio, including the move into Android handsets,” said Lu Chia-lin (呂家霖), who rates HTC “outperform” at Macquarie Group Ltd in Taipei.
He estimates the company will release as many as five new Android-based phones this year, compared to the one it introduced last year.
HTC released its G1 handsets using the Android operating system last October with a forecast to ship 1 million units by the end of December.
The company hasn’t published actual G1 shipments.
More engineering, production and marketing staff allowed HTC to boost shipments 21 percent last year and sell those handsets at an average 6 percent higher price, HTC said on Feb. 6. Global mobile phone shipments grew by 3.5 percent last year, researcher IDC said.
Microsoft, the world’s biggest software maker, will cut as many as 5,000 jobs, while Sony said in December it would cut 16,000 workers and NEC, Japan’s largest computer maker, announced last month it would eliminate 20,000.
Taiwan’s unemployment rate climbed to 5.31 percent last month from 5.03 percent in December, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said on Thursday, as companies fired workers following the economy’s record contraction last quarter.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world’s largest custom-chip maker, and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, are among companies locally that said they would reduce their work forces.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which supplies advanced chips to Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc, yesterday reported NT$1.046 trillion (US$33.1 billion) in revenue for last quarter, driven by constantly strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, falling in the upper end of its forecast. Based on TSMC’s financial guidance, revenue would expand about 22 percent sequentially to the range from US$32.2 billion to US$33.4 billion during the final quarter of 2024, it told investors in October last year. Last year in total, revenue jumped 31.61 percent to NT$3.81 trillion, compared with NT$2.89 trillion generated in the year before, according to
PRECEDENTED TIMES: In news that surely does not shock, AI and tech exports drove a banner for exports last year as Taiwan’s economic growth experienced a flood tide Taiwan’s exports delivered a blockbuster finish to last year with last month’s shipments rising at the second-highest pace on record as demand for artificial intelligence (AI) hardware and advanced computing remained strong, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Exports surged 43.4 percent from a year earlier to US$62.48 billion last month, extending growth to 26 consecutive months. Imports climbed 14.9 percent to US$43.04 billion, the second-highest monthly level historically, resulting in a trade surplus of US$19.43 billion — more than double that of the year before. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) described the performance as “surprisingly outstanding,” forecasting export growth
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