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Toshiba plans chip plant closures in Japan
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According to Reuters, Toshiba Corp. plans to close some of its system and discrete chip assembly plants in Japan and, in turn, increase its reliance on outside suppliers in Thailand and Malaysia in an attempt to cut production costs.Toshiba, the world’s No.2 producer of NAND flash memory, is suffering from the worst ever global recession in the chip industry. Its ailing semiconductor operations are expected to cause the company a loss of more than 200 billion yen (US$2.3 billion) this year. Its shares fell 1.6% to 370 yen, compared to a 1.3% decline in the Nikkei average.
These losses can be attributed to oversupply in the chip industry combined with dropping prices and fading demand due to the global financial crisis.
Toshiba spokesperson Hiroko Mochida stated that the company is considering moving more assembly overseas as well as other efficiency optimization and cost-cutting measures.