Posted on Friday, July 25 2008 @ 0:40 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Hynix announced
it will close its 200mm DRAM wafer fab in Oregon within two months.
Hynix will close within two months a 200mm DRAM wafer fab in Eugene, Oregon, according to local officials speaking immediately after a visit from Hynix chief executive Jong Kap Kim. The move comes at a time when Hynix and others have been closing older facilities due to a DRAM market that has been in oversupply for months.
Kim declined to comment when leaving Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy's office Wednesday (July 23). However, Piercy confirmed reports that Hynix will close the fab and is considering selling the facility and significantly scaling back its presence here.
"In the next two months, they are going to shut the plant down and they are looking at their options" for what to do with the plant, Piercy said. "They are very interested in having a long term commitment to Eugene and are looking at ways to have a presence here," he added.
The move comes at a time when market watchers say the DRAM sales will decline as much as nine percent this year as prices fall. The industry has significant overcapacity because 300mm plants are ramping faster than many in the industry expected, making the older 200mm fabs less cost effective and a drain on profits.
