Freescale Semiconductor’s Scottish semiconductor wafer fab is finally to close after more than a year of uncertainty while the company tried to find a buyer for the facility at East Kilbride.
The plant will end production early next year affecting around 800 manufacturing employees at the wafer fab which has operated in Scotland since the 1960s. An R&D facility on the site, with around 100 engineers will continue to operate, according to the company.
Unite the union, which represents workers at the manufacturing plant, was critical of the management and called on the Scottish government to include the manufacturing industry in their strategy to save the Scottish economy.
“This announcement comes as a bitter blow to the workforce at Freescale particularly in the current economic climate,” said Jimmy Farrelly, Unite senior industrial officer.
“Although the decision comes as no surprise to Unite we have been extremely frustrated by the lack of transparency and the veil of secrecy with which Freescale has operated,” said Farrelly.
Freescale CEO Rich Beyer recently told EW that the redundancy terms on offer to workers at the company's East Kilbride plant are "exceptionally high".
Freescale first announced it was looking for a buyer for the fab in July 2007. In May this year it conceded that a sale of the Scottish fab was unlikely and that closure of the fab was the likely option with the loss of 800 jobs.
The date has now been set for the first months of 2009.