Intel axes five plants, 5,000 workers
Intel plans to close chip assembly plants in Malaysia and the Philippines and end US wafer fab operations in Oregon and California as part of a restructuring plan that will affect as many as 6,000 employees worldwide.
Today, the chip giant announced that it will "consolidate and streamline some older capacity" without affecting the deployment of newer 45-nanometer and 32-nanometer chip designs.
Intel's cutbacks arrive a week after the chip giant reported a 90 per cent drop in revenue for its fourth quarter 2008 due to sliding demand for computers worldwide and a billion-dollar write off.
The company said it plans to close two test facilities in Penang, Malaysia and one in Cavite, Philippines.
Intel will also shut down US wafer fab production at its Fab 20 plant in Hillsboro, Oregon and its Silicon Valley D2 facility in Santa Clara, California.
