- Wednesday, 25 November 2009
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I am in favour of animal rights as well as human rights - Abraham Lincoln
Intel's shaken Chinese chip firm back to work by Friday
INTEL RECKONS it will be business as usual again this Friday for employees of the company’s chip packaging factory in the Chinese city of Chengdu, only 100km away from the epicenter of Monday’s deadly quake.
The chip plant was closed after the huge earthquake ripped up roads and tore down buildings, killing tens of thousands. Intel gave a statement saying that it was currently conducting a “seismic assessment” (Yep, that was definitely an earthquake alright), before dragging its traumatised employees back in to work.
"While the current situation is dynamic, we hope to resume operations as soon as possible pending the completion of a seismic assessment of our facilities and restoration of infrastructure in the region," read the statement.
To be fair, Intel is being put under quite a bit of pressure from Quanta computer and Compal electronics, who both seem to have a good dose of the shakes themselves, as they worry about how their supplies will be affected by the disaster. After all, Chipzilla does supply around 80 per cent of the global computer market with central processing chips.
However, seeing as Intel’s Chengdo plant was a relatively small one, and that Quanta and Compal make up around 60 per cent of the world’s entire laptop market, it seems a bit far fetched that either one should be overly stressed.
Reuters reports that Chinese local media said that Intel has already contacted Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE), Amkor and Siliconware to help them pick up the slack.
Intel could hardly have been more sensitive if it had yelled “get out from under all that rubble and get back to packaging chips, you lazy layabouts”. Truly compassionate. µ
L’Inq
Reuters
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Couldn’t agree more! Intel could have used this disaster to show that they are good caring company to work for. Guess we can chalk it up along with the rest of Intel’s less than friendly history.
Do I need to say more?
Well, that's just the true face of Intel and any other stock-performance corporation owning factories abroad. There's no place for humanity or empathy in the corporate world, it's all about delivering product to increase revenues. Workers die by natural disaster or war? Get some kind of transportation going to replace the dead workers, the "show must go on", we're only talking about ants afterall.
I see that they are re-opening the plant. I don't see where they tell people who lost homes to go back to work.
At least NO distruption from WAR only Act of God? Well I've never seen rural china & it seemed clean on outside, yet primitive or abandoned on inside. Bad basements & Clay floors, NO wallboard & so on. its real shame.
I just can't believe how in-humane Intel is. How dare they donate more than $300,000 in disaster relief PLUS match up $2,000 in donations for every Intel employee.

Mean o'l nasty Intel, you should be ashamed!
Replace the dead? None of Intel's employees who were at work were injured and the building is intact, with power from backup generators.

If nothing else, they can get everyone's cell phones recharged, provide hot food and maybe even clean drinking water.
Seems like there are some just looking for reasons to jump all over "cold, heartless" Intel. Give me a break, what would AMD do in the same situation ?

When I read that there was no significant damage to the Intel site, I assumed it was true. Makes sense, though, to take a few days to make sure. 

Is everyone in the area around Chengdu homeless now ? I must have missed that. Why assume there are Intel employees who are ? 

Hourly workers get paid for hours worked, not when sitting at home -- no different than here in the US. 

Why shut the plant if "everythings ok" ? Get real.
If this was in the US or in the EU Intel would be singing a different tune because of bad publicity. But since it's out of nowhere from public media coverage by the western front, it's not concern gotta make profit. That's Intel's policy on ethics. Kind of lame but at least that's probably 1 of the many reasons why Intel built a factory over there...