In 2023, the storm of layoffs will be fierce! The domestic core-making business will be terminated one after another, and the strategic contraction of large foreign factories will be contracted
Editor's note: In 2023, the semiconductor industry will face multiple challenges such as macroeconomics and geopolitics. In 2024, Jiwei launched a retrospective and prospective series, inviting industry representatives to summarize the development of the industrial chain and hot topics in the past year, and look forward to the future. Through this series, it provides an in-depth reference for the semiconductor industry and helps enterprises better respond to new development trends.
In 2023, the semiconductor industry will have a downward cycle. In the face of the continued uncertainty of the macroeconomic and demand environment, many semiconductor companies have laid off employees to save capital expenditures, from raw materials, devices to terminals, and the industry has experienced an unprecedented wave of layoffs. There are also many companies that have terminated their semiconductor business and survived. According to the statistics of Jiwei.com, in 2023, about 30 well-known companies will lay off employees in the fields of semiconductor equipment, design, and manufacturing alone.
From a domestic point of view, OPPO's ZEKU terminated chip research and development and disbanded 3,000 people, which shocked the industry. In addition, Meizu also said that it would terminate its self-developed chip business and make personnel adjustments. And "Davis Semiconductor", a wholly-owned subsidiary of TCL Holdings, also revealed that "the company was dissolved", and the layoffs affected nearly 100 people.
Foreign giants have not been spared, laying off their Chinese teams or other regional employees. Qualcomm has been exposed to layoffs on several occasions, including in Israel, its headquarters in the United States, and in Chinese mainland and Taiwan. British chip design company Graphcore, a potential rival of Nvidia, confirmed that it would lay off most of its employees in Chinese mainland and stop sales in Chinese mainland.
The following is the layoffs of about 30 semiconductor companies in 2023 compiled by Jiwei.com:
Chinese mainland: A number of companies terminated chip research and development business
OPPO旗下哲库业务终止 解散3000人
On May 12, OPPO announced the closure of the business of its chip design company ZEKU.
OPPO said that in the face of the uncertainty of the global economy and mobile phone market, after careful consideration, the company decided to terminate the ZEKU business.
At the meeting, HR of Zheku read out the layoff compensation and resignation process. The redundancy compensation shall be compensated according to N+3, where the base of N shall be the sum of the employee's monthly salary, bonuses and other payable income for the past year to remove 12, and there is no upper limit of three times the upper limit in various places. As the fifth largest IC design company in Chinese mainland, the nearly 3,000 employees of Zheku who were disbanded have become the object of competition from major chip companies and headhunters.
Meizu: Due to the uncertainty of the global economic environment, the self-developed chip business was terminated
In August, it was reported that due to the lack of actual business output and high investment costs, the Meizu AR chip business department of Xingji was about to make personnel adjustments. There are about 200 employees in the department, and more than 40 new graduates joined this year. The adjustment plan is to lay off all fresh graduates and keep a small number of old employees, and the compensation plan is being negotiated.
Meizu responded that in the face of the uncertainty of the global economic environment, Meizu Group decided to terminate its self-developed chip business and focus more on product innovation and software user experience. Due to the adjustment of relevant business, involving the adjustment and optimization of some personnel, the company is actively coordinating, communicating solutions, and properly solving problems in accordance with laws and regulations.
SenseTime started layoffs in multiple departments with a maximum rate of 15% and N+2 compensation
In August, a number of current and former employees of SenseTime revealed that a new round of layoffs of the company has arrived, involving multiple departments, and they are required to leave within a week at the earliest. Several SenseTime employees said that the layoffs were large. A Smart Cities & Commercial Group (SCG) employee said his department had laid off about 10 to 15 percent of its workforce. The quality center under the SCG was disbanded, and the task of product quality inspection was assigned to the various groups. An employee of the Intelligent Industry Research Institute said that the institute laid off about 10% of its staff in this round.
It is reported that the compensation standard for this layoff is "N (one month's salary for annual seniority compensation) + 2", plus the payment of social security in September, and the compensation for employees and fresh graduates who do not renew their contracts when they expire is "N+1".
Core Pupil responds to 80% layoffs: It's pure rumors!
In October, there was news from the media that Xintong Semiconductor laid off employees, and 80% of its employees were laid off. In this regard, Jiwei contacted Li Yang, co-founder of Xintong Semiconductor. He responded that the company has indeed been optimized due to business adjustments recently, but the large-scale layoffs are pure rumors.
Moore Threads Starter Optimization
On November 6, Zhang Jianzhong, founder and CEO of Moore Threads, sent a letter to all employees of the company, mentioning that a routine job optimization will be carried out to achieve better job matching and salary matching efficiency, and more focus on GPU core research and development, which is expected to be completed within a week (the week of November 6).
According to people familiar with the matter, since the rapid development of Moore Threads for three years, there are currently nearly 1,000 employees. This personnel optimization is the result of normal performance appraisal, because the company needs to focus on strategy.
It is rumored that TCL's subsidiary, Mostar Semiconductor, was dissolved on the spot
On November 21, it was reported that the internal personnel of "Moxing Semiconductor", a wholly-owned subsidiary of TCL Holdings, exposed the "dissolution of the company", and the layoffs affected nearly 100 people, including dozens of people in Guangzhou headquarters, as well as dozens of people in Shanghai, Shenzhen and other sub-centers. The compensation plan is N+1, and the entire company is dissolved, including software, IC, and even administration.
It is understood that Moxing Semiconductor was established in March 2021 with a registered capital of 50 million yuan, and the legal representative is Yan Xiaolin, which is wholly owned by TCL Industrial Holding Co., Ltd.
Ali Damo Academy's quantum laboratory has significantly reduced its staff?
In November, there were market rumors that due to budget and profit reasons, Ali Damo Academy carried out a significant reduction in the staff of its quantum lab, and may lay off the entire team. According to rumors, due to budget and profit reasons, the Alibaba DAMO Academy Quantum Lab may have been disbanded, with a total of more than 30 people laid off, and many members of the laboratory have successfully joined other companies.
Ali Damo Academy responded on November 26 that in order to further promote the coordinated development of quantum technology, the Damo Academy and Zhejiang University jointly developed quantum technology, donated the quantum laboratory and transferable quantum experimental instruments and equipment to Zhejiang University, and opened them to other universities and scientific research institutions. However, the Damo Academy did not respond to the issue of personnel disposal.
Chuanfu Ruiwei was dissolved, and the layoff compensation was paid in N+1 installments
At the beginning of December, the employees of Furui Microelectronics posted a post to break the news that Furui Micro was disbanded! Now the salary cannot be paid, and the N+1 compensation will be paid in installments from the second quarter of next year. In June this year, it was reported that Furui Micro had delayed the issuance of year-end bonuses, and employees and headhunters were persuaded to retire.
In response to this rumor, Jiwei contacted Furui Micro, but the other party refused to respond.
Foreign companies in China: Lay off teams in Chinese mainland or exit the market
Arm Technology was exposed to layoffs of nearly 100 people in February and more than 70 software engineers in Chinese mainland in December
On February 11, according to three familiar sources, Arm China (ARM Technology) laid off 90-95 employees to cope with the challenging business outlook and situation this year. Most of the people who allegedly lost their jobs were R&D engineers.
On December 18, people familiar with the matter revealed that Arm laid off more than 70 software engineers in Chinese mainland and will move some positions outside Chinese mainland. About 15 of the laid-off employees will be reassigned to different positions on projects related to Chinese mainland, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Intel Taiwan lays off 10% of its workforce? The official said that it would not comment on the rumors
On July 17, it was reported that Intel would start layoffs in Taiwan, China, and would lay off hundreds of employees. At present, the number of employees in Intel's Taiwan branch is about 1,000, and if 100 employees are cut, the proportion will reach 10%. Intel wants to cut costs by $10 billion a year by 2025.
Qualcomm has laid off employees in both Chinese mainland and Taiwan
In September, market news broke that Qualcomm began laying off employees in both Chinese mainland and Taiwan. Among them, the number of layoffs at Qualcomm's R&D center in Shanghai may reach 20%, but the compensation for layoffs is expected to reach N+7. Taiwan will lay off 10% of its workforce, and compensation is expected to be N+3.
In response, Qualcomm said that given the continued uncertainty in the macroeconomic and demand environment, the company expects to take further adjustment measures to achieve continued investment in significant growth opportunities and business diversification. While the main measures are expected to include layoffs, the market has exaggerated the rumors of "mass layoffs", "office closures, and an "exit from Shanghai".
It is rumored that Micron in Taiwan, China, will lay off thousands of employees without warning
In February, it was reported that Micron, a major memory manufacturer, also began to lay off employees and cut salaries, and some employees in Taiwan, China, recently broke the news that they began to lay off employees, pointing out that Micron in Taiwan, China, laid off employees without warning, and "left with ten minutes' notice", which caused concern among government departments. Taiwan's Micron issued a statement on February 10, confirming that it will reduce about 10% of its global workforce this year through voluntary departures, downsizing and external recruitment. However, Micron of Taiwan did not disclose the estimated size and number of layoffs.
Marvell eliminated all R&D teams in Chinese mainland
In March, insiders broke the news that the American chip design manufacturer Marvell (Marvell Technology) decided to eliminate all R&D teams in Chinese mainland. This comes less than half a year after Marvell laid off most of its R&D team in Shanghai and Chengdu in October 2022.
A person close to Marvell told Jiwei that the planned layoffs in Chinese mainland are a major part of Marvell's global layoffs. The company plans to lay off about 15% of its R&D personnel and about 1,000 people worldwide, of which only about 5% are in the United States, and most of the remaining layoffs are in Chinese mainland.
Marvell is rumored to have dismantled its NAND Flash control IC team in Taiwan
Following the elimination of the Chinese mainland team, in November, market sources said that due to the poor NAND Flash market conditions and Sino-US trade war restrictions, the industry reported that Marvell would eliminate the NAND Flash control IC team in Taiwan, China, and it has recently taken effect.
The industry speculates that while Marvell is not fully divesting its NAND Flash control IC business, the elimination of its NAND Flash team in Taiwan indicates that the storage business is still difficult.
AMD responds to layoffs in Chinese mainland: rumors are untrue, minor optimization and restructuring
In October, there were rumors that AMD was about to lay off a large number of employees in Chinese mainland, and the layoff ratio was expected to be 10~15%. Based on the total number of employees in AMD Greater China, the number of layoffs can be close to 500.
In response to the online rumors, AMD responded: "The online rumors are untrue. Based on the adjustment of the company's strategy, the company has recently carried out a small optimization and reorganization of the organizational structure. ”
British chip company Graphcore withdrew from Chinese mainland and laid off most of its employees
On November 23, it was reported that British chip design company Graphcore would lay off most of its employees in Chinese mainland and stop sales in Chinese mainland.
Graphcore confirmed the decision, citing the recent escalation of US export controls against China. "Unfortunately, this means that we will significantly reduce our operations in Chinese mainland. ”
Foreign companies: M&A and business restructuring Accelerate strategic layoffs
Intel started five rounds of layoffs to accelerate the company's strategic deployment
At the beginning of the year in January, Intel laid off hundreds of employees in California and warned that it would continue to lay off workers.
In August, it was announced that Intel would lay off 140 employees in California, including 89 employees at Intel's Folsom campus and 51 in San Jose.
In December, Intel said it would continue the multibillion-dollar cost-cutting program that began last year, laying off 311 employees at two campuses in California, involving about 76 employees at its Santa Clara headquarters and about 235 employees at Folsom, with layoffs expected to take effect by the end of 2023. The 235 or so employees laid off in Folsom are Intel's fifth round of layoffs this year.
U.S. chip equipment giant Lam Research announced 1,300 layoffs
In January, Tim Archer, the chief executive of Lam Research Corp., one of the three largest suppliers of chip-making equipment in the United States, said on a conference call that the company would lay off about 1,300 jobs worldwide, or about 7 percent of its workforce.
Lam Research said its chipmaker customers are slowing production lines, delaying construction of new factories and reducing improvements to existing facilities. Electronics companies that buy chips are stockpiling large amounts of unused parts, which are rippling throughout the supply chain.
Lam Research expects costs related to layoffs and facility cuts of $150 million to $250 million.
Qualcomm has simultaneously started layoffs outside of Chinese mainland and Taiwan
In addition to the above-mentioned layoffs in Chinese mainland and Taiwan, Qualcomm will also carry out layoffs in Israel, the United States and other places in 2023. In January, news broke that Qualcomm would carry out a new round of layoffs in Israel, cutting dozens of jobs. In March, it was reported that Qualcomm cut 79 jobs from its San Diego headquarters in February, with layoffs concentrated in employee engineers, administrative and legal departments. Qualcomm will announce a 5% company-wide layoff in its quarterly earnings report released on May 3, according to people familiar with the matter in April. Among them, the company's mobile division will cut 20% of its workforce. In August, Qualcomm again signaled that smartphone demand remains weak, and the company is taking steps to reduce expenses and begin a new round of layoffs.
Synopsys plans to cut more than 100 jobs in the Bay Area
In January, Synopsys said in a letter to the state EDD (California Employment Development Agency) that it would lay off 102 employees in California, including 102 employees at its 102 East Middlefield Road and Sunnyvale facilities in Mountain View, effective March 31. The vast majority of employees affected by the layoffs are technical engineers, designers and software specialists, according to the documents.
After announcing a 10% layoff, Micron Technology began laying off employees in Singapore
Micron Technology announced in December 2022 that it would cut 10% of its global workforce and began laying off employees in Singapore in February 2023. It is reported that Micron employs more than 9,000 people in Singapore, but did not disclose how many employees will be reduced in Singapore and other relevant details.
Since then, it has been reported that Micron Technology will expand the proportion of layoffs to 15%, and about 7,200 employees will be laid off.
TTM plans to close three factories and cut 750 jobs
In February, TTM Technologies said it planned to close three manufacturing facilities to improve total plant utilization, operational performance, customer focus and profitability. TTM expects to lay off about 750 employees in total, or 5% of the global workforce, as a result of the closure.
Samsung Electronics' U.S. semiconductor subsidiary lays off 3% of employees
In March, it was reported that Samsung Electronics' U.S.-based semiconductor subsidiary, Device Solutions Americas (DSA), also recently laid off employees. In February this year, Samsung Electronics DSA issued a notice to all employees that it plans to reduce 3% of its staff due to economic instability. It is understood that the total number of employees at DSA is 1,200, and about more than 30 will be laid off.
It is rumored that the American semiconductor equipment manufacturer Kelei laid off 3% of its global employees, and engineers were persuaded to retire without notice
In the same month that Samsung's U.S. semiconductor subsidiary laid off employees, the industry revealed that Kelei launched a layoff plan. According to reports, the Korean branch of Kelei is working to screen the departers. Some of the resignation recipients also raised procedural issues, saying, "I was summoned to the head office without prior notice on the grounds of annual salary negotiation, and I was advised to resign." ”
The report pointed out that Kelei will lay off about 3% of its workforce not only in South Korea, but also in the entire world.
Following Chinese mainland, Marvell announced its first layoffs of 320 employees in the United States
In March, Marvell notified employees of the news that it was laying off 4% of its workforce in the U.S. and about 320 people in response to the downturn. Marvell has previously downsized its workforce in Chinese mainland, and the latest move marks its first major layoffs in the United States.
Israeli chipmaker Valens plans to streamline development platform, and various departments will cut 15% of employees
On June 8, 2023, Valens Semiconductor announced that it is streamlining its development platform to optimize R&D resources and revised its full-year 2023 financial outlook. The plan, which will be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2023, includes a 15% reduction in various divisions, resulting in annual savings of approximately $9 million in operating expenses.
NWF, the UK's largest fab, will cut 100 jobs
In September, Newport Wafer Fab (NWF), the UK's largest wafer fab, said it would lay off 100 jobs. The company blamed the decision to lay off 100 people on restrictions imposed by the UK government amid uncertainty over future ownership.
In 2021, NWF was sold for £63 million to Dutch chipmaker Nexperia, which was acquired by Chinese mainland company Wingtech Technology in the same year. The deal was rejected at the time, but British politicians demanded that Nexperia divest at least 86% of the NWF at the end of last year.
传NAND Flash厂铠侠拟裁员 鼓励提前退休
The storage market continues to be sluggish, Kioxia has suffered losses for three consecutive quarters, and it is rumored in the industry that the company is considering layoffs and restructuring its operations through structural adjustment.
According to people familiar with the matter, Kioxia will recruit employees who wish to retire early among regular employees over the age of 56 after explaining to the union on September 21, and will increase pensions and provide reemployment support for those who are recruited.
RISC-V startup SiFive lays off 20% across all departments
Chip design startup SiFive said Oct. 24 that it had laid off about 20% of its workforce, or about 130 people. In a statement, SiFive noted that as we identify and focus on the greatest opportunities, SiFive is making strategic adjustments across all of our global teams to best meet the rapidly changing needs of our customers.
Storage industry downturn SSD maker Solidigm has launched layoffs
Now that the storage industry downturn has spread to SSD makers, Solidigm confirmed in October that the company was recently making layoffs due to the industry downturn, saying it was a modest layoff but declined to provide further details. Solidigm said the company will provide support and severance pay for colleagues who are leaving the company.
onsemi announced 900 layoffs and expects weak fourth-quarter results due to slowing demand for electric vehicles
At the end of October, chipmaker Onsemi expected tepid fourth-quarter results and said it would lay off about 900 jobs.
onsemi provides chips for electric vehicle drivetrains and assists driver assistance systems such as cameras and sensors. It has laid off 1,360 employees this year and expects revenue of $1.95 billion to $2.05 billion, below expectations of $2.18 billion.
Chip IP supplier Imagination plans to cut 20% of its workforce
In November, people familiar with the matter revealed that chip IP supplier Imagination Technologies planned to cut 20% of its workforce. According to an internal source, the company said it is laying off employees due to the challenging "business environment" over the past 18 months.
According to the source, the layoffs are company-wide and every department will be affected. As many as 130 jobs in the UK are at risk. At the end of 2022, Imagination had 559 employees.
Broadcom's acquisition of VMware will cut more than 2,800 jobs worldwide, and the numbers are growing
Broadcom announced on Nov. 23 that the $69 billion acquisition of VMware was completed, and the official number of layoffs rose to 2,838 since then, according to Broadcom's WARN (Notice of Adjustment and Retraining of Workers) notices filed in multiple U.S. states. However, state WARN laws typically only require companies to file when 100 or more employees are affected, and the numbers are incomplete.
Some VMware insiders said that the total number of layoffs will be between 10,000 and 20,000. Many of the layoffs were staggered over a period of up to nine months.
ADI will lay off hundreds of employees in California in January 2024
In December, it was reported that the latest round of layoffs disclosed by technology companies such as ADI (Analog Devices), ForgeRock, Nextdoor and Flex will eliminate 350 jobs, according to an official notice filed with the California Employment Development Department (EDD).
Among them, ADI is laying off 111 employees at its Rio Robles office building north of San Jose, which is expected to take effect on January 12, 2024.
epilogue
In fact, for the electronics industry, not only semiconductor design, equipment, and manufacturing have been affected by the cold weather, but many automotive and consumer electronics terminal companies, Internet technology giants, and panel manufacturers have laid off employees in 2023 to effectively and rapidly reduce costs.
In 2023, the semiconductor industry has experienced "ups and downs", and it is gratifying that storage prices have gradually recovered in the second half of the year, and a number of industry market research institutions and companies have also given optimistic forecasts for next year, believing that the industry will enter a recovery cycle next year, but the extent of the industry's recovery will still be observed.
(Proofreading/Sun Le)