Semi savings

STMicroelectronics is to wind down operations at its 6in wafer fab in Carrollton, Texas, its 8in fab in Phoenix, Arizona and its back-end packaging and test facility in Ain Sebaa, Morocco.

The measures are part of the company's program to migrate most of its global 6in wafer production to less-expensive 6in fabs in Singapore or to finer-geometry 8in facilities around the world.

Most of ST’s 6in fabs in Europe have already been phased out or converted to 8in manufacturing in a move that has saved the company more than $150m per year.

ST’s Phoenix wafer production plant is a relatively small 8in facility using mature technology. In light of its size and technology, the fab would require substantial capital expenditure to be upgraded to the state-of-the-art technology necessary for it to continue operating.

In order to reduce costs, ST decided not to expend the resources to upgrade it, and to shift its capacity - directly or indirectly - to other plants or subcontractors, in Asia and in Europe.