Siltronic cuts jobs in Portland

For this reason, Siltronic is planning to stop producing this wafer diameter at Portland (Oregon, USA) in the fall of 2012. The decision means that Portland’s current workforce of some 750 will be reduced by about 350. The affected personnel will receive severance packages. Siltronic will continue to produce 200 mm wafers at Portland. At Burghausen (Germany), Siltronic is also adapting its 150 millimeter wafer line to the permanently low level of demand. Due to this process and other steps to increase productivity, there will be about 150 job cuts at the site. Implementation of the measures is scheduled for this year. The job cuts are to be made without involuntary layoffs, primarily by offering those affected jobs at the Group’s other units in Burghausen. The exact details of the plan are currently being discussed with employee representatives. “Consolidating 150 millimeter wafer production at Burghausen, while reducing personnel capacity there at the same time, enhances plant utilization at this site, improving our fixed-cost coverage,” explained Christoph von Plotho, Siltronic’s president and CEO.