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Less demand for flash memory technology which led to a worldwide glut of the chips means they’re now so cheap that it costs more to make them than they’re worth.
Boise’s Micron Technology will stop producing NAND chips, and the company will lay off 15 percent of its workers worldwide. The Boise plant will lose 1500 of those jobs.
The company employs an estimated 9,000 to 10,000 workers in Boise and about 19,000 worldwide. A 15 percent cut worldwide would be about 2,850 workers.
The job cuts come more than a year after Micron shed about 1,100 jobs in Boise. The company has lost money for seven straight quarters as the brutally cyclical computer-memory market suffers an extended downturn.
The new job cuts will begin with a voluntary program, Micron said.
Gov. Butch Otter released this statement:
“Our thoughts and our best efforts are with those individuals and families who will be experiencing this difficult period firsthand. I met with [Micron CEO] Steve Appleton and assured him that state agencies stand ready to assist with job placement services and other help. I asked Department of Labor Director Roger Madsen to increase staffing at all area Job Service offices to operate during extended hours and on Saturdays. I also asked Department of Commerce Director Don Dietrich to identify businesses with the potential for adding on some of these highly qualified workers. And state economist Mike Ferguson and Budget Director Wayne Hammon are tracking the potential impact of this news on our economy and state revenue. The global marketplace is driving this situation. But Micron will remain one of Idaho’s largest employers and is positioning itself for better times ahead. Meanwhile, this highlights the importance of state government doing all we can to diversify and expand our economic base – being frugal and acting prudently while preparing the infrastructure and our workforce for job growth and new opportunities.”
More information about expanded services can be found at the Idaho Statesman online.
Otter’s partially optimistic statement comes after stories of layoffs, economic downturns and budget holdbacks have been top of the news, it seems, for weeks – along with the national economic mess and spreading worldwide financial market problems.
Less than two weeks ago, New West managing editor Matthew Frank’s story of the closing of a mill in Priest River, Idaho focused on the local impact of economic troubles and one little town’s efforts to redefine its economic base.
The week before, Gov. Otter ordered state budget holdbacks to help cope with tighter state bank accounts.
And Idaho’s jobless rate rose to five percent for September, the highest rate since 2004. Since January, that’s a 2 point jump.
The national unemployment rate was 6.1 percent for the same period.
One potential growth sector in the near future which can readily make use of these highly skilled Micron workers is the manufacturing of solar photovoltaic arrays. Indeed, there is a significant overlap in both semiconductor manufacturing technology and solar PV technology. Perhaps Gov. Otter should try to entice new manufacturing facilities for solar power here in Idaho.