TOKYO, March 27 (Kyodo) — Renesas Electronics Corp. plans to sell its Aomori Prefecture plant making microcontrollers for automobiles to heavy machinery manufacturer Fuji Electric Co., sources close to the matter said Tuesday.
The major Japanese semiconductor maker aims to improve its performance by consolidating and enhancing production efficiency, as the company expects to see a 57 billion yen net loss for the current business year ending this month.
The plant subject to the sale belongs to Renesas Northern Japan Semiconductor Inc., a Renesas subsidiary. Renesas is also considering selling its Tsuruoka plant in Yamagata Prefecture held by another unit, Renesas Yamagata Semiconductor Co., the sources said.
Renesas aims to hand over the plant in Tsugaru, Aomori, this summer for several billion yen, while Fuji Electric will take on about 550 employees, the sources said.
After purchasing the plant, Fuji Electric plans to renovate manufacturing facility to make semiconductors for automobiles, the sources said.
On the sale of the Tsuruoka plant, which makes system chips used for digital home appliances, Renesas has initiated negotiations with major U.S. semiconductor foundry Global Foundries Inc., the sources said.