Intel to close some plants, thousands could be affected

In a filing with the SEC this afternoon, the company revealed it will streamline some older operations in order to focus on the 32 nm transition.

A US Securities and Exchange Commission filing this afternoon cites Intel spokesperson Chuck Mulloy as reporting that his company will shut down assembly two assembly test facilities in Malaysia and one in the Philippines, along with a once-valuable 200mm wafer production facility in Hillsboro, Oregon. Some 700 employees are currently stationed there, according to local reports.

Fab 20 in Hillsboro was established in 1997. In late 2005, it was being considered for a massive expansion to a 300mm plant. After investments started pouring in, the company revamped those plans, making the 300mm plant a separate Hillsboro development called D1E. Today's SEC filing and press statement did not mention the fate of D1E, though Intel did say that of the 6,000 employees impacted by its shutdown decisions, many could be reassigned.

Reports from Oregon local media do not hold hope that the D1E project will stay on schedule. Intel's existing D2 plant, another 200mm foundry near homebase in Santa Clara, will also be shut down.

In its SEC statement, Intel promised these moves would not impact its roadmap for transitioning between its current 45 nm manufacturing process and its upcoming 32 nm process, meaning its now legendary "tick / tock" agenda -- as the company itself calls it -- will remain on schedule.