Intel kills off Colorado plant

ChipZilla sold its handheld computer processing division to Marvell almost exactly a year ago for the tidy sum of $600m, as part of Otellini's fabled restructuring efforts.

Now the transition of power is complete, Marvell is planning to move manufacturing of the chip over to TSMC, leaving the Colorado plant, which was almost entirely dedicated to XScale, as a big silicon poking factory without much silicon to poke.

Intel's spinnister spokesZilla, Chuck Mulloy, said that Marvell would still take delivery of some components from the firm's Satan Clara facility. Meanwhile, the firm is looking to sell off Colorado to somebody else.

The knife falls on ChipZilla once again, trimming off not just fat but a tidy slice of meat, too. The XScale sale was and is an odd one, given that making processors is justifiably within Intel's core competency and whilst XScale hadn't been a resounding success, there was clearly potential in the business.

The cut-backs and plant sale signify that nothing is upcoming in Intel's portfolio to replace it. Despite his healthy waistline, perhaps Otellini truly believes that slimmer is sexier. µ