GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -- Semiconductor maker RF Micro Devices Inc. said Wednesday it will eliminate 250 employees and scale back production as it seeks to reduce costs.
The company said it will idle its 4-inch wafer fabrication facility at its Greensboro campus and transition gallium arsenide chip manufacturing to the campus's 6-inch wafer facility. The 4-inch facility accounted for less than 10 percent of gallium arsenide chip production, the company said.
RF Micro also said it will reduce 6-inch wafer production at its U.K. facility by operating on eight-hour shifts five days a week. Currently, the facility operates around the clock seven days a week.
The job cuts, which represent 5 percent of the company's work force, will take place by March, RF Micro said. The head count and production cuts will help free cash flow by $15 million in 2010, according to the company.
Shares of RF Micro Devices closed Tuesday at 86 cents and have lost 85 percent so far this year.
