Singapore shutdown

is to close its assembly and test plant in

instead of selling it as the company had previously announced it would do in March.

A large amount of the equipment that is currently in Singapore will be transferred to National’s other assembly and test plants in Melaka, Malaysia, and Suzhou, China.

The news will impact around 950 employees, including professional staff, technicians and operators.

The company currently estimates that, due to the closure, it will incur charges between $27 million to $30 million during the first quarter of fiscal 2006 - primarily for severance pay.

The majority of the activities associated with the closure, including equipment transfers to other plants, are expected to take place over nine to 12 months.

The company said that it expects to eventually achieve quarterly cost savings of $4 million to $6 million from the action.