Renesas fire-hit chip plant to restart by mid-April
2021-04-01 11:58:24 [Print]
Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics said on March 30 it would take at least 100 days to get back to normal production at its fire-hit plant.
The company's chip factory in northeast Japan was hit by fire earlier this month due to a power surge in one of the machines, putting more pressure on the broader chips industry amid a global shortage of semiconductors that is hurting production of cars, smartphones and home appliances. Renesas commands nearly a third of the global market share for microcontroller chips used in cars.
"Over the roughly next two months, Renesas will take a related sales hit of between 19.5 billion yen (S$239 . 5 million) and 26 billion yen," the company said.
The Japanese government has called on equipment makers to help Renesas restore its production, with bureaucrats contacting companies at home and overseas to request they provide parts and machinery to the fire-hit company, a trade ministry official told Reuters on Wednesday.
The company's chip factory in northeast Japan was hit by fire earlier this month due to a power surge in one of the machines, putting more pressure on the broader chips industry amid a global shortage of semiconductors that is hurting production of cars, smartphones and home appliances. Renesas commands nearly a third of the global market share for microcontroller chips used in cars.
"Over the roughly next two months, Renesas will take a related sales hit of between 19.5 billion yen (S$239 . 5 million) and 26 billion yen," the company said.
The Japanese government has called on equipment makers to help Renesas restore its production, with bureaucrats contacting companies at home and overseas to request they provide parts and machinery to the fire-hit company, a trade ministry official told Reuters on Wednesday.