Japan chip maker Renesas may cut 14,000 jobs–reports

TOKYO — Japanese semiconductor maker Renesas Electronics Corp. is considering cutting up to 14,000 jobs or 30 percent of its workforce as part of a major restructuring plan, news reports said Saturday.

The company is also considering selling a major factory to a Taiwanese firm, while closing or scaling down other plants, said the Nikkei and the Asahi Shimbun newspapers as well as Kyodo News.

Renesas, which lost 62.6 billion yen ($785 million) in the year to March, also plans to raise 100 billion yen, mainly from its top shareholders NEC, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric, the Nikkei said.

The company wants to sell its major factory in Yamagata to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the Nikkei said.

The plant, with 1,400 workers, produces semiconductors used in televisions and other digital gadgets. But low domestic demand has forced the company to reduce operations at the factory, the Nikkei said.

In a short statement, Renesas distanced itself from the reports, saying no formal decision had yet been made.

The scope of the newly reported plan is significantly higher than what was reported Tuesday by the Yomiuri Shimbun, which reported 6,000 job cuts and 50 billion yen in fresh capital.

Japanese electronics makers — from parts makers to producers of the finished products — have long struggled with the chronically stagnant Japanese economy and a high yen weighing on their earnings.