MALTA - GlobalFoundries informed 221 employees at its Fab 8 computer chip factory and headquarters in Malta that they will lose their jobs in a company-wide layoff program that is impacting about 800 workers worldwide.
The company is also putting into place a hiring freeze at Fab 8, which employed roughly 3,000 people before the layoffs.
A GlobalFoundries spokeswoman said the layoffs were immediate but that the former workers will be "non-working" employees through the end of March over a 90-day period.
She said a hiring freeze was also in effect at Fab 8 as well.
GlobalFoundries instituted the layoff program to slash about $200 million of company costs amid what is expected to be a difficult chip sales environment in 2023.
GlobalFoundries revealed the layoff plan shortly after reporting its best-ever quarterly financial results. GlobalFoundries, which is a so-called foundry chipmaker that manufacturers chips for hundreds of customers, reported third quarter revenue of $2.1 billion back on Nov. 8 - a record for the company - as well as record earnings of $336 million.
However, the company, which took its shares public last year, is determined to become leaner amid what is considered a down year for chip sales as recession and inflation fears grip Wall Street and the consumer markets.
GlobalFoundries has yet to reveal its year-end and fourth quarter 2022 results, which should indicate where the company is headed and how much its cost-cutting program is expected to save the company.
"We remain on track to deliver a strong year of growth and profitability," GlobalFoundries CEO Tom Caulfield told analysts back on Nov. 8.
https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Small-group-of-departing-GlobalFoundries-17691907.php