Memorychip maker Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子) is ramping up recruitment efforts to meet increasing demand as its new fab in Kaohsiung is set to increase production next year, the Taichung-based firm said yesterday.
The chipmaker is planning to hire more than 400 engineers with various specializations for its fabs in Kaohsiung, Taichung, Hsinchu and Taipei, Winbond said in a statement.
The Kaohsiung fab is set to produce a small volume of DRAM chips in July next year in preparation for regular production in October, Winbond said.
Photo courtesy of Winbond Electronics Corp
The capacity expansion comes amid the chipmaker’s struggles to keep up with demand and more customers signaling interest in long-term supply deals.
The Kaohsiung 12-inch plant would have a target capacity of 35,000 wafers per month, with Winbond planning to install equipment in several stages, it said.
The firm is planning to invest NT$335 billion (US$12.08 billion) over a 10-year period, it added.
In the initial stage, the fab would be capable of making 10,000 wafers per month, using 25-nanometer technology, Winbond said.
Once the new facility starts regular production, it would boost the firm’s overall production capacity by 15 to 25 percent, Winbond said.
The chipmaker is planning to spend NT$11.8 billion on new facilities and chipmaking equipment this year, up from NT$790 million last year.
Winbond said it expects the capital expenditures to remain high next year as most manufacturing equipment would be installed then.
Winbond makes flash memory chips and DRAM chips, which each accounted for about half of the company’s memorychip revenue of NT$14.49 billion in the second quarter of this year.
The company is to conduct job interviews online next week, as it seeks to reduce in-person contacts amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it said.
Winbond has increased employee benefits to retain and attract chipmaking talent, as most local electronics companies, semiconductor firms in particular, are struggling to fill job vacancies, it said.
Since July, Winbond has been offering paid leaves for employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and deal with pandemic-specific needs, the chipmaker said, adding that COVID-19 treatment is covered in its in-house health insurance policy.
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