Globalfoundries shedding jobs at its US operations

GlobalFoundries is in the process of reducing its headcount by offering early retirement programs to long-time employees at its US-based semiconductor plant.

This includes the fab in Essex Junction, Vermont as well as the East Fishkill and Malta plants in New York. The foundry hopes to achieve its targeted reductions via voluntary leaves, but does not rule out layoffs if it can not reach its goal. Company spokesman Jim Keller refused to disclose details about how much staff GlobalFoundries wants gone.

As USA Today reports, GlobalFoundries blames the job cuts on the ebbs and flows of the industry:

"We go through these ebbs and flows," Spokesman Jim Keller said Wednesday. "Right now we're at a point where some customers delayed their orders. We're in a period where we don't have as much business."

Keller said the chip business is a "dynamic industry" that changes quickly, and that the long-term market looks "pretty good."

GlobalFoundries acquired the East Fishkill and Essex Junction plants in 2015. In exchange for taking the loss-making plants off its hands, Big Blue offered GlobalFoundries $1.5 billion in cash and signed a deal to make GlobalFoundries the exclusive manufacturer of PowerPC processors for the next ten years.

Via: TechPowerUp