Renesas aims to sell chip plant, shed 12,000 jobs: Source
TOKYO, May 26 – Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp plans to sell off loss-making operations and cut its payroll by at least 12,000, a source close to the matter said today, as the company battles high costs and nimbler foreign rivals.
Sources also confirmed that Renesas, the world’s largest maker of microcontroller chips for cars, aims to raise more than US$1.3 billion (RM4.10 billion) to pay for restructuring costs and will take the plan to Hitachi Ltd and its other major shareholders as early as next week.
The Nikkei business daily reported today that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co plans to buy a Renesas chip plant at Tsuruoka, in northern Japan, as part of the plan, although the sources did not confirm this.
Renesas could not be reached for comment. TSMC spokeswoman Elizabeth Sun declined to comment on the report, saying the company does not comment on market rumours.
Renesas said last week it would form a tie-up with TSMC, which already counts Renesas as one of its clients, but declined to give details ahead of a formal announcement due on Monday.
Renesas has posted cumulative net losses of nearly US$6 billion over the past seven years as it struggles to keep up with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and others in an expensive race to build ever smaller and faster chips. – Reuters
