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NXP Semiconductors has said it will close its fab in Boeblingen, Germany by the end of 2007 with the loss of 550 jobs. The move is due to poor production utilization, according to NXP, which will now shift production to its fabs in Nijmegen and Hamburg.

"This step is not an easy one but inevitable in light of the current and expected economic situation of this factory. We thoroughly evaluated all options within the international NXP environment and looked at new processes, products and partnership options. Unfortunately, no alternatives were found to be realistic or economically viable," stated Dr. Volker Kuckhermann, general manager, NXP Semiconductors in Germany.

Originally, the Boeblingen fab was part of a Joint Venture with IBM, producing memory chips. Philips later bought out IBM and converted the fab to logic IC production.