Hitachi Ltd, Japan's third-largest chipmaker, said it cut 300 jobs, or about a third, at its joint venture plant in Singapore and may fire more as demand wanes for semiconductors.
Hitachi said Friday it will cut an additional 1,100 jobs in its Japanese chip division by March to help reduce costs at the unprofitable business. The firings at the Singapore plant, which now has 1,000 workers, are in addition to the cuts in Japan, spokesman Masanao Sato said
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 battered consumer confidence and slowed demand for computer chips in the US, the biggest importer of Singapore-made microchips and other products. Slumping demand for personal computers and other electronics has prompted the prices of chips used in those products to tumble.
"The Singapore plant is losing money and is preparing to get out of this unprofitable business," Sato said.
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