Hynix to Close Eugene Fab; Other 200 mm Fabs May Shut
Hynix Semiconductor Inc. announced it will close its 200 mm Eugene, Ore., fab, and is likely to shutter other 200 mm fabs in Asia. Hynix is considering its options for other 200 mm fabs, such as selling the equipment.
Staff -- Semiconductor International, 7/24/2008
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Hynix Semiconductor Inc. (Icheon, Korea) announced Wednesday that it will close its 200 mm Eugene, Ore., fab “because of short- and long-term market conditions, which include a steep reduction in the price of memory chips worldwide.”
Production at the 10-year-old Eugene fab will stop by the end of September, the company said, adding that it is considering its options for how to utilize the facility after the closure. Those include “pursuing a similar business to the current semiconductor operation,” selling the operation to another chip manufacturer, or selling the land and building separately from the equipment.
| J.K. Kim, chairman, Hynix Semiconductor |
The announcement came after Hynix Chairman Jong Kap Kim met with Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, and Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy. Eugene’s Register-Guard reported that the closure will result in the layoff of 1,113 employees over the next two months.. The company has an annual payroll of $62M, and pays ~$4.5M in property taxes annually, the Register-Guard reported.
The newspaper reported that Hynix now has five 200 mm fabs, and that three would be closed, including one in China and another in Korea, as well as the Eugene facility. The Hynix press release did not mention the China fab, but said it is reviewing the use of its 200 mm fabs in Icheon and Cheongju, Korea, with options including switching to foundry production, making memories and logic devices, or selling the equipment.
In Korea, Hynix is building a memory megafab, the M11 fab, that eventually could produce as many as 300,000 300 mm wafers per month.
