Micron Technology Inc. will cut about 15 percent of its global work force as part of a restructuring of its computer memory chip operations, the company said Thursday.

The bulk of the job losses will be in Boise, where the semiconductor company is headquartered.

A company statement said the cuts were a aftermath of declining customer demand and product oversupply, which has driven the selling price for NAND flash memory below manufacturing costs. Micron will shut down the NAND flash memory plant in Boise it operates as part of a joint venture with Intel Corp., it said.

The job cuts will take place by the next two years, starting with a voluntary program. Micron officials say the company will supply severance and outplacement services.

Micron employs about 19,000 society worldwide. A reduction of 15 percent would mean 2,850 fewer employees, and company spokesman Dan Francisco said roughly 1,500 of the cuts would be made in the Boise area.

“I believe we’re still the largest private employer

in the state, and while that isn’t good news for us or our employees or anyone in the community, we’re doing what we have to do to remain competitive and protect the employees that are still here,” said Mark Durcan, Micron’s president and chief operating officer.

The company has posted nearly $2 billion in losses since 2007, and more than 1,000 public have already been laid off from Micron jobs in the last few years.

The cuts announced Thursday contrast to Durcan’s statements in March, when he said Boise would be the best place for Micron to build a plant capable of producing the next generation of memory chips. At the date, Durcan said Boise was the front runner considering of the existing Micron research and development offices here and considering of a series of tax incentives passed by the Legislature…

Original post by Mike

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