NEW YORK, Jan. 23 (Kyodo) — Texas Instruments Inc. said Monday it will shut down two plants, in Hiji in Japan's Oita Prefecture and in Houston, Texas, within the next 18 months, expecting the closures to cost about $215 million in costs.
The U.S. chipmaker said the two plants, both running for over 30 years, need a major upgrade of facilities, but it prefers shifting production to larger and more advanced facilities.
The Hiji plant in southwestern Japan, which used to be one of the company's main production bases, produces a broad range of semiconductors, both for consumer electronics such as audiovisual equipment and industrial use, and also technically supports other Asian plants.
An official of the company's Japanese arm said it is not realistic to introduce to the Hiji plant high-end and large facilities to produce cutting-edge chips.
The two plants each hired about 500 employees, and the Japanese arm will consider ways to maintain the employment in Hiji such as by seeking a company to take over the plant, which began operations in 1973, the official said. The company has another Japanese plant in Ibaraki Prefecture.
Texas Instruments said Monday its net profit plunged 68 percent from a year earlier to $298 million in the October-December quarter on sales of $3.42 billion, down 3 percent.