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[News] Tower Semiconductor Reportedly Halting Operations for Three Weeks


2024-03-07 Semiconductors editor

Amid industry slowdown, customers are reducing orders as they are currently clearing inventory accumulated over the past two years due to semiconductor supply constraints. Thus, Tower Semiconductor reportedly plans a three-week shutdown for most of its operations in Newport Beach, California, per Data Center Dynamics. Nearly 700 employees will take leave during this period.

Tower Semiconductor has reportedly confirmed the shutdown from April 1st to 7th and plans further closures from July 1st to 7th and October 7th to 13th. The same sources further states that most of Tower Semiconductor’s 699 employees will be impacted by three week-long furlough periods. The total number of employees at the Newport Beach facility was not disclosed by the company.

As IJIWEI cited sources, the management of Tower Semiconductor has announced that equipment will remain in “warm shutdown,” and power to unused areas of the plant will be shut off.

In contrast to the shutdown, the company has listed 13 job vacancies, including positions such as equipment engineers, electrical engineering interns, industrial engineering interns, and directors of aerospace and defense sales.

While Tower Semiconductor’s sales are far behind those of Intel and TSMC, it produces components for major clients like Broadcom and holds a significant position in rapidly growing fields like electric vehicles.

Recent reports from Bloomberg have also indicated that Tower Semiconductor has proposed a USD 9 billion investment to establish a facility in India. The report further cites that Tower Semiconductor aims to expand its operations over the next decade, with the ultimate goal of producing 80,000 wafers per month.

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(Photo credit: Tower Semiconductor)

Please note that this article cites information from IJIWEI and Bloomberg.