Thinfilm restructures – plans workforce reduction of 40%

The company says it plans to focus its resources on developing and building market adoption of its brand protection and consumer engagement solutions. More specifically, Thinfilm has taken the decision to pause the development of printed dopant polysilicon (PDPS) technology. It has also decided to realign its sales organisation and its go-to-market strategy, and possibly the biggest decision its this restructuring is the reduction of its global footprint and a shifted weight toward San Jose. Thinfilm says in a press release that these actions are designed to yield nearly USD 20 million in annualized savings at the operating level and will result in an approximate 40% reduction in the workforce. "I am very disappointed that we need to take these drastic steps, especially given the significant contributions of individual team members and I'd like to thank them for their commitment and wish them well for the future" says Chief Executive Officer Kevin Barber, in the release. The Q4 2018 update noted that previous management was too optimistic on timing of demand for NFC solutions, the need for a PDPS solution and mistakenly pursued a sub-optimal go-to-market strategy. As a result of pausing the printed electronics line, Thinfilm will discontinue the current Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) business after exhausting existing inventory with its leading customer. All in all, EAS has been maintained as a tool to improve roll to roll factory learning, but, it has not positively contributed to the company’s profitability. “Thinfilm is disappointed to report that discussions with a potential strategic equity partner are not expected to result in investment at this time,” the press release reads.