AUSTIN, Tex. -- The semiconductor downturn and cutbacks are now taking a toll at industry consortium International Sematech here, which has internally announced that it will eliminate 10% of its workforce, or about 60 full-time jobs.
Sematech executives are still working on the cutback plan, and employees will be notified about the termination of certain positions by the start of February, a spokeswoman for the consortium told SBN today. "These workers will be paid through the end of March, and they will be offered good severance packages," she added.
The 15-year-old consortium notified its full-time staff about plans to cut employment prior to the holidays in December. Sematech's 120 assignees from member companies will not be impacted by the layoffs, the spokeswoman said.
The cutbacks are in response to a slight decrease in Sematech's operating budget this year. The consortium's 2002 budget has been set at $136 million vs. $140 million in 2001.
Currently, there are no plans to eliminate areas of R&D at Sematech, which pools funds and resources from member companies to develop and identify next-generation chip production technologies.
"We have told our member companies that we intend to keep the fabric of Sematech in place," said the spokeswoman. She said the consortium's membership also remains intact with 13 companies--AMD, Agere, Conexant, HP, Hynix, Infineon, IBM, Intel, Motorola, Philips, STMicroelectronics, TSMC, and Texas Instruments. --J. Robert Lineback
