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Intel to close five plants

Cuts 5,000 to 6,000 jobs
Thursday, 22 January 2009, 07:43

INTEL ANNOUNCED it will shut five manufacturing facilities, affecting the jobs of 5,000 to 6,000 employees.

The plants to be closed include three overseas production lines and two silicon wafer fabs within the US. The offshore facilities are two assembly test operations in Penang, Malaysia and another in Cavite, Phillipines. The US factories are Fab 20, a 200mm wafer facility in Hillsboro, Oregon and the D2 plant near Chipzilla's headquarters in Santa Clara, California.

In a statement, the company said that not all of the 5,000 to 6,000 employees affected will leave Intel, since some of them might be moved to other facilities. Intel has approximately 84,000 employees worldwide. The job losses might amount to about 6 per cent to 7 per cent of its workforce.

The move comes two weeks after the firm said it was so well placed to face a downturn that it wouldn't have to lay anybdy off and a day after CEO Paul Otellini said it might make a loss next quarter. µ

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Comments
Loyality buys you nothing.

Wow, and the Intel workers here are so hardcore (Penang) I wonder how they feel about this news?

posted by : Bruno Dieter Chan, 22 January 2009 Complain about this comment
Losing my Job

I'm one of those that will be affected. But despite it being really upsetting, I would have to say I would do the same if I were Paul Otellini. It just does not make business sense to continue running a factory at extremely low capacity due to the dramatic drop in demand. I just hope I am able to find a new job in this time of global recession.

posted by : Mr. Jobless, 22 January 2009 Complain about this comment
@ Mr. Jobless

Good luck, and I hope you find something rewarding and profitable soon. The Global economy continues to nosedive, and cutting jobs will never help that, only the company's bottom lines. This has to run it's coarse unfortunately, and then we can weed out some of the buisness jerks that caused this in the first place.

posted by : Dustin, 22 January 2009 Complain about this comment
Blindsided by this-

I thought intel was secure from this huge recession but fab 20? Man. That just sucks. I live in hillsboro too. I hear all kinds of things from employees. ( most of what I hear, I don't repeat or is already covered somewhere else )

But I am really, truly shocked at this. Out of nowhere after Otellini said "intel is fine"

I will say that some of the other older fabs are getting upgraded so, there is hope.

Btw, when will these knuckle heads learn that cutting jobs only makes the economy worse. Its the same thing again, the rich taking advantage of the poor.

posted by : viscountalpha, 23 January 2009 Complain about this comment
to Mr. Jobless

dude, bet on the open source. If you are able to learn, go learn some coding skills, web devs who can hack some open source developing are selling cheap proprietary plugins are not easy to find. Get unemployment benefits, use that time spent home for learning new skills. Hopefully you're not mortgaged to death so you can afford it. Market yourself on forums, work over the internet. Most of all.. don't be greedy.

posted by : Frank, 23 January 2009 Complain about this comment
not the best way

although times are tough and if it has to close then it has to. but why not close the overseas plants before the usa ones?
because the USA plants workers get more money, so its more financially viable to close the usa ones down. it is a 200mm fab so it was always gana close down, to be at least upgraded.

but instead of laying these people off why not just reduce the working hours around the entire country's fabs?
so if everyone in the states is doing 12 hour shifts, then drop it to 10 so that the rest of the production. can be picked up by this fab that is being closed.
and even if you went to the Intel employees and said our X fab is being closed down because we cant afford it. I would guarantee that they would all take a vote and vote that they all drop their hours back. of course people would be upset they loose an hour or 2 pay, but the Intel brotherhood, its spirit if you will will come together for this and be willing to sacrifice that.

posted by : stewart , 23 January 2009 Complain about this comment
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