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ON Semiconductor has added a 150mm fab to its closure list, located in Phoenix, Arizona with the loss of approximately 350 jobs. According to the company the facility has been in operation since the 1960s, originally built and operated by Motorola. ON Semiconductor expects to save a total of approximately $9 million per quarter compared to the third quarter of 2008, with the full benefits seen in the second quarter of 2010, after the fab closes by the end of the first quarter 2010.

ON Semiconductor had recently announced the closure of three fabs due to the current economic conditions. In a conference call with financial analysts, ON Semiconductor executives noted that the three fab closures previously announced would be completed by the third quarter of 2009. This would equate to production volumes decreasing by approximately 20%. Fab utilization rates, executives said, would be in the mid-40% range in the first quarter of 2009.

“The four-inch line that we have in Europe should be closed around the end of March timeframe,” commented Keith Jackson, ON Semiconductor President and CEO, in a conference call with financial analysts. “We’ve got a six-inch line in Europe that should be closed somewhere around July and then we have a five-inch line here in the U.S. that should be certainly by September, see closure on that. Then as we mentioned today, the last factory, which is a six-inch factory here in Phoenix, would be in the first quarter in 2010.”

ON Semiconductor also noted that capital expenditure for 2008 reached US$95 million. Spending in 2009 will be between US$55 and US$65 million.