Intel Closing Five Plants

Microchip maker Intel Corp. has announced that it will stop production at five facilities in Asia and the US, including its Santa Clara headquarters, affecting between 5000 and 6000 employees.

By the end of 2009, the company said it will close two assembly test facilities in Penang, Malaysia, and one in Cavite, Philippines. It will halt production in Santa Clara and at an older facility in Hillsboro, Ore., which fabricates 200-mm wafers. Some of the employees affected may be offered positions at other facilities.

Intel said the actions will not affect production of its existing 45-nm and planned 32-nm manufacturing lines. The company produces 45-nm wafers in Chandler, Ariz., and announced last month that it has completed the development phase of its 32-nm chips and expects to begin producing them in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The job cuts represent about 5 or 6 percent of the company’s work force, which totaled about 86,300 worldwide as of Dec. 29, 2007, according to Intel’s annual report. With the cuts announced last week, Intel will have trimmed 20 percent, or almost 20,000, of its workers since Dec. 31, 2005, when it had about 99,900 employees.

Intel also announced this month that revenue for the fourth quarter of 2008 was down 19 percent to $8.2 billion, while revenue for the year was down 2 percent to $37.6 billion. Microprocessor and chipset sales were significantly lower than in the third quarter, and the average selling price for microprocessors was flat, the company reported. That dropped Intel’s net income almost 90 percent from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2008 and 24 percent year over year.

For more information, visit: www.intel.com.