Hitachi plans to end partial DRAM output
By Reuters
1/10/2001
TOKYO--Hitachi Ltd, Japan's third-largest chipmaker, plans to partially halt production of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, the Sankei Shimbun said on Sunday.
Tumbling DRAM prices have dealt a heavy blow to Japan's big chipmakers, and Hitachi <6501> has said it would eventually shift all of its DRAM production to a joint venture set up with rival NEC Corp, Elpida Memory Inc.
The Sankei newspaper said Hitachi planned to stop DRAM production in Germany by the end of next March, and in Singapore in or after April 2003.
Hitachi said last month its DRAM operations would comprise about half of the 95 billion yen (US$793.7 million) in operating losses it forecast in its chip business for the 2001/02 business year.
Earlier this month, Hitachi said it now expected a net loss of 140 billion yen in 2001/02 and it planned to cut 14,700 jobs this year.
Rival chipmaking conglomerates Toshiba Corp, NEC and Fujitsu Ltd have also issued profit warnings and plans for dramatic job cuts recently, sending their stock prices tumbling.
Fujitsu and NEC have already decided to withdraw from DRAM chip operations.
On Friday, Hitachi and NEC said they would delay production at Elpida to October 2002 from the planned start early next year, citing a murky outlook for the already-weak DRAM market after the attacks on the United States.
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