TOKYO, July 3 (Kyodo) — Renesas Electronics Corp. said Tuesday it will close or sell eight of its 18 domestic plants and solicit early retirement applications from over 5,000 employees in September as part of its restructuring effort.
The targeted plants include ones in Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture, and in Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Renesas is also considering selling two other plants in the future.
The struggling chipmaker has already completed the sale of its plant in Goshogawara, Aomori Prefecture, to electronics device maker Fuji Electric Co.
Renesas aims to scale down unprofitable system chip operations to focus on its main stay microcontroller business in which it has the top global market share.
The company's three major shareholders -- NEC Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. -- and main creditor banks have basically agreed to provide about 100 billion yen in assistance.
