Fujitsu To Close UK DRAM Plant Immediately 09/04/98
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1998 SEP 4 (NB) -- By Martyn Williams, Newsbytes.
Fujitsu, Ltd. [TOKYO:6702], has announced plans to close its DRAM
(dynamic random access memory) plant in Newton Aycliffe, north-east
England as of today. The closure of the factory, which employs 570
people, is in reaction to a collapse in the DRAM chip market.
"The decision to close the Durham Plant is a painful one, and we do
so soberly and with sincere concern for those who will be affected,"
said Takamitsu Tsuchimoto, executive vice president and head of
Fujitsu's electronic devices group.
"Production at the plant will end today," a spokesman told Newsbytes.
"It will close in December and a small staff will be employed to
maintain the plant until the end of February." Fujitsu says it will
begin looking buyer or partner for the facility.
Closure of the plant signals Fujitsu's exit from the 4 megabit
and 16 megabit DRAM market, where prices have collapsed as oversupply
and a fall in demand hit the market. It will also scale back 16 megabit
DRAM production at its plant in Japan, concentrating on production
of 64 megabit DRAM chips in Japan and Oregon, U.S.A.
The news comes at a time when Japanese DRAM manufacturers are scaling
back overseas production because of the bad market conditions.
Earlier this week, Hitachi announced plans to idle its Texas DRAM
factory, with the loss of 500 jobs. Like the Fujitsu plant in the
UK, it was making chips using what is considered low-technology today. |
