Intel RP announces impending closure

Intel has formally announced the impending closure of its test-and-assembly facility in General Trias, Cavite to its employees yesterday, a source said.

The source said the employees were given until the end of the year to look for jobs.

The layoffs actually started in November last year and the announcement was already expected, the source added.

Reports said over 1,800 employees would lose their jobs but prior to the announcement, Intel had reportedly conducted job fairs and seminars to prepare the employees.

Intel has been operating in the country since 1974. The test-and-assembly facility located at the Gateway Business Park in Javalera, General Trias, Cavite was set up in 1996 with 3,000 employees before the layoffs began.

It was Intel’s second offshore assembly operations center in Asia, and the first American multinational and semiconductor company in the Philippines. It manufactures processors, motherboards, chipsets, desktops, notebooks, business PCs and servers, among others.

The source said Intel is also closing three other facilities in other countries but did not disclose details. The reason given for the shutdown was the current global economic crisis.

The global office of Intel in the United States is expected to issue an official statement on the closure of the facility today.–Eden Estopace, Philippine Star