MILPITAS, Calif. (AP) -- Memory chip maker SanDisk Corp. said Thursday it has reached a deal to restructure a joint venture with Toshiba Corp., shifting more than 20 percent of the operation's capacity to Toshiba. SanDisk said the restructuring will include the transfer of equipment lease obligations to Toshiba and a cash payment from Toshiba to SanDisk for equipment owned by their joint venture.
SanDisk said the total value of the transfer is about 80 billion yen ($890 million). Two thirds of that amount will come in the form of reduced lease obligations for SanDisk, while the rest will be paid in cash, the company said. The company said SanDisk and Toshiba will remain equal partners in the remaining joint venture, which produces flash memory cards.
"This agreement will reduce our capital spending, strengthen our financial position and increase our business flexibility," SanDisk Chief Executive Eli Harari said in a statement. Memory chip makers have been among the worst hit by falling prices in the semiconductor industry because of overcapacity and falling demand.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
A Look at Flash - Qimonda: Four Weeks To Doomsday
Qimonda (QMNDQ.PK) has four weeks to find an investor to save the business before it will have to close production and dismiss 12,000 workers, the Financial Times reports, citing “people close to the company.” Qimonda filed for insolvency a week ago.
The story says that potential buyers could get a bargain in Qimonda’s state-of-the-art technology, but that the need for further investment could drive up the total commitment required to buy and run the company to $650 million to $1.3 billion.
The FT says that Qimonda is hoping to lure rivals in the DRAM business, such as Sasmung, Hynix, Elpida or Micron (MU). The report also said a key factor could be support from the governments of Portugal and the German state of Saxony, which the company has production operations. Both governments had previously offered loans to Qimonda in an effort to keep the company afloat, although the deal collapsed. In trading on the pink sheet, Qimonda shares are unchanged at 12 cents.
The story says that potential buyers could get a bargain in Qimonda’s state-of-the-art technology, but that the need for further investment could drive up the total commitment required to buy and run the company to $650 million to $1.3 billion.
The FT says that Qimonda is hoping to lure rivals in the DRAM business, such as Sasmung, Hynix, Elpida or Micron (MU). The report also said a key factor could be support from the governments of Portugal and the German state of Saxony, which the company has production operations. Both governments had previously offered loans to Qimonda in an effort to keep the company afloat, although the deal collapsed. In trading on the pink sheet, Qimonda shares are unchanged at 12 cents.
Caterpillar to cut another 2,110 production jobs
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. announced 2,110 new job cuts as it scales back production amid a world economic slowdown. The world's largest maker of mining and construction machinery said the layoffs at three Illinois plants -- in Aurora, Decatur and East Peoria -- and other cost-cutting measures were needed to maintain competitiveness. Like other big manufacturers, Caterpillar has seen demand for its large equipment fall as customers cut back spending.
Friday's new layoffs came on top of 20,000 job cuts announced earlier this week, when the Peoria, Illinois-based company reported a 32 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit. Results fell as slumping commodity prices, tight credit markets and a decline in construction hurt orders for Caterpillar's backhoes, tractors and other machines.
Friday's new layoffs came on top of 20,000 job cuts announced earlier this week, when the Peoria, Illinois-based company reported a 32 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit. Results fell as slumping commodity prices, tight credit markets and a decline in construction hurt orders for Caterpillar's backhoes, tractors and other machines.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Kodak posts 4Q loss, plans up to 4,500 job cuts, Black & Decker 4Q profit tumbles, cuts 1,200 jobs...
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) -- Eastman Kodak Co. said Thursday it is cutting 3,500 to 4,500 jobs, or 14 percent to 18 percent of its work force, as it posted a $137 million fourth-quarter loss on plunging sales of both digital and film-based photography products. Converting the bulk of its 129-year-old business from high-margin film to more competitive electronic technology cost Kodak $3.4 billion from 2004 through 2007. It chopped its global work force from 64,000 to 24,400 at the end of 2008, with about two-thirds of its 12,800 U.S. employees based in Rochester. The latest cuts that Kodak aims to complete in 2009 could trim its ranks to 19,900, a level not reached since the 1930s Depression era. Its payroll peaked at 145,300 in 1988.
LONDON (AP) -- Pharmaceuticals company AstraZeneca PLC on Thursday reported a small drop in fourth-quarter net income and said it would cut a further 6,000 jobs globally by 2013 as it looks to shore up its earnings.
TOWSON, Md. (AP) -- Black & Decker Corp. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit tumbled 77 percent on a large restructuring charge and declining demand as the prior year benefited from a hefty tax settlement. The power tools manufacturer also announced job cuts totaling approximately 1,200 positions and cautioned that its first-quarter results would be hurt by declining sales and a stronger U.S. dollar.
LONDON (AP) -- Pharmaceuticals company AstraZeneca PLC on Thursday reported a small drop in fourth-quarter net income and said it would cut a further 6,000 jobs globally by 2013 as it looks to shore up its earnings.
TOWSON, Md. (AP) -- Black & Decker Corp. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit tumbled 77 percent on a large restructuring charge and declining demand as the prior year benefited from a hefty tax settlement. The power tools manufacturer also announced job cuts totaling approximately 1,200 positions and cautioned that its first-quarter results would be hurt by declining sales and a stronger U.S. dollar.
Panasonic to cut 560 jobs, close Asian plants, Toshiba to close chip plants in Japan, STMicroelectronics posts loss, cutting 4,500 jobs...
TOKYO (AP) -- Panasonic Corp. said Wednesday it will cut 560 jobs in Asia due to the closure of two plants in the region, while declining to confirm a report saying the Japanese electronics giant will likely suffer its first net loss in six years. The world's largest maker of plasma television will shut down a factory in Malaysia and another plant in the Philippines to "cope with a rapid change in the global electronics market," said spokesman Akira Kadota.
TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's No. 1 chipmaker, Toshiba Corp., will shut down several semiconductor plants at home to cope with a plunge in global demand for electronics goods, a report said Wednesday. Toshiba will also likely incur an operating loss of 200 billion yen ($2.2 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 2009, said the Asahi, a major Japanese daily, citing no sources.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Swiss chip maker STMicroelectronics NV said Tuesday it is cutting about 4,500 jobs worldwide after it posted a fourth-quarter net loss Tuesday, reversing a year-ago profit as revenue slipped amid the global economic turmoil. The job cuts represent about 9 percent of the Geneva-based company's work force.
TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's No. 1 chipmaker, Toshiba Corp., will shut down several semiconductor plants at home to cope with a plunge in global demand for electronics goods, a report said Wednesday. Toshiba will also likely incur an operating loss of 200 billion yen ($2.2 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 2009, said the Asahi, a major Japanese daily, citing no sources.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Swiss chip maker STMicroelectronics NV said Tuesday it is cutting about 4,500 jobs worldwide after it posted a fourth-quarter net loss Tuesday, reversing a year-ago profit as revenue slipped amid the global economic turmoil. The job cuts represent about 9 percent of the Geneva-based company's work force.
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