Toshiba to Close 8-Inch Wafer Fab; Outsource Logic Chip Production
November 18, 2010
Toshiba
announced that the company is going to shut down the No.2 eight-inch wafer fab
in Yokkaichi, located in central Japan, by the end of December 2010, according
to a November 18, 2010 report by the Bloomberg. Currently, the No.2 plant,
opened in 1996, has a headcount of approximately 1,000 people, and it is
reported that the employees will be transferred to factories in the same
manufacturing site. With an aim to cut costs, it is projected that Toshiba will
outsource logic chip production starting from 2011. Toshiba's move is expected
to enable the company to focus on manufacturing chips that save photos and
songs in Smartphones.