GlobalFoundries Lays Off 221 in Malta
It’s official: GlobalFoundries has laid off 221 workers from its chip fab plant in Malta.
In a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed with the New York State Department of Labor on Dec. 16 and posted Dec. 23, the semiconductor manufacturer cited “economic” as the “reason for dislocation” in announcing its layoff decision. Most of the layoffs will come from the non-manufacturing sector, though some will occur at the executive level, according to GlobalFoundries’ CEO Tom Caulfield.
In a related development, officials from the Vermont Department of Labor have confirmed that 148 positions were recently cut at the GlobalFoundries site in Essex Junction. GF is the largest private employer in Vermont.
GlobalFoundries cited inflation, high energy costs, and interest rate increases as reasons for the layoffs. Although the company reported record profits ($336 million) and revenue ($2.1 billion) for the third quarter of 2022, it has said it is looking to cut its annual spending by $200 million because many of its largest customers are looking to significantly slash the number of chips they buy in 2023. The smartphone field, for example, has an oversupply of chips because fewer consumers are buying new devices in favor of retaining their current phones in the midst of global inflation.
In a November statement concerning its impending layoffs, a GF spokesman said, “Based on the current macroeconomic environment, we are taking a very disciplined, proactive approach to contain costs and, like many in our industry and across the technology sector, we too are initiating a hiring freeze and taking a set of focused actions to selectively reduce our workforce.”
Fab 8, the current facility on the Malta campus, employs more than 3,000 people. Globally, GF employs more than 14,000 workers.
Despite the layoffs, GlobalFoundries is committed to expanding its Malta site, known as Fab 8, with funding provided in part by Congress’ passage in 2022 of the CHIPS Act that will furnish the semiconductor industry with billions of dollars in subsidies. GF previously announced that another chip-fabrication facility (to be known as Fab 8.2) in Malta is planned.
