EANS-News: Siltronic Adapts Capacity for 150 Millimeter Silicon Wafers to Market Demand
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer/originator is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Company Information Subtitle: - Production of 150 millimeter silicon wafers at Portland (Oregon, USA) to be discontinued in third quarter of 2012 - Personnel capacity to be reduced for 150 millimeter wafers at Burghausen - Siltronics CEO von Plotho: Consolidating 150 millimeter wafer production at one site increases plant utilization, improving our fixed-cost coverage Munich (euro adhoc) - March 9, 2012 - Siltronic, the semiconductor subsidiary of Wacker Chemie AG, intends to streamline its production capacity for 150 millimeter silicon wafers. For this reason, Siltronic is planning to stop producing this wafer diameter at Portland (Oregon, USA) in the fall of 2012. The Munich-based chemical Group announced this today. The decision means that Portland´s current workforce of some 750 will be reduced by about 350. The affected personnel will receive severance packages. Siltronic will continue to produce 200 mm wafers at Portland. At Burghausen (Germany), Siltronic is also adapting its 150 millimeter wafer line to the permanently low level of demand. Due to this process and other steps to increase productivity, there will be about 150 job cuts at the site. Implementation of the measures is scheduled for this year. The job cuts are to be made without involuntary layoffs, primarily by offering those affected jobs at the Group´s other units in Burghausen. The exact details of the plan are currently being discussed with employee representatives. "Consolidating 150 millimeter wafer production at Burghausen, while reducing personnel capacity there at the same time, enhances plant utilization at this site, improving our fixed-cost coverage," explained Christoph von Plotho, Siltronic´s president and CEO. As a result, Siltronic anticipates an overall earnings improvement of about EUR30 million per year, starting 2013. These measures are expected to cause non-recurring expenses of about EUR15 million, which will be reflected in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, appreciation and amortization). By consolidating its 150 millimeter capacities, Siltronic is building on the structural improvements already made and adapting output to market demand. In doing so, Siltronic is pursuing its lead-site strategy, adopted three years ago, to concentrate silicon-wafer production at single sites according to diameter. This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions and estimates of WACKER´s Executive Board. Although we assume the expectations in these forwardlooking statements are realistic, we cannot guarantee they will prove to be correct. The assumptions may harbor risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual figures to differ considerably from the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such discrepancies include, among other things, changes in the economic and business environment, variations in exchange and interest rates, the introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance for new products or services, and changes in corporate strategy. WACKER does not plan to update the forwardlooking statements, nor does it assume the obligation to do so. Further inquiry note: Christof Bachmair Media Relations & Information Tel.: +49 (0)89 6279 1830 E-Mail: christof.bachmair@wacker.com end of announcement euro adhoc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- company: Wacker Chemie AG Hanns-Seidel-Platz 4 D-81737 München phone: +49 (0) 89 6279 01 FAX: +49 (0) 89 6279 1770 mail: info@wacker.com WWW: http://www.wacker.com sector: Chemicals ISIN: DE000WCH8881 indexes: MDAX, CDAX, Prime All Share stockmarkets: free trade: Hannover, München, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, regulated dealing: Berlin, regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt language: English
Original content of: Wacker Chemie AG, transmitted by news aktuell