
TDK-Micronas is to close its factory in Glenrothes, Scotland, that makes automotive sensors, with the loss of 83 jobs.
Micronas was effectively formed by the purchase from ITT Intermetall of a wafer fab in Freiburg, Germany, and other assets in October 1997. Micronas was acquired by TDK in 2016 as a leading manufacturer of Hall-effect sensors with major customers in the automotive industry for about US$225m (about £160m).
The Glenrothes factory was opened in 1994 and is to close in April 2021 or some time thereafter. The decision was made as a part of a TDK-Micronas restructuring that is not linked either to Brexit or the coronavirus pandemic, but more from the automotive downturn.
Günter Weinberger, CEO of TDK-Micronas, said in a statement published by Fife Today: “The business of TDK-Micronas in Freiburg, Germany, the parent company of TDK-Micronas Ltd., has suffered under the weak automotive market both in 2019 and, even more due to the pandemic, in 2020. The most recent market analysis shows a decline of 24 percent of new car registrations in Europe in 2020 compared to 2019. During these challenging years, we have supported the Glenrothes site as much as we could by fully loading their capacity, at the expense of the parent site in Freiburg, Germany.”
Weinberger went on to say that although the automotive industry was recovering there was a need for increased productivity with fewer pieces of test equipment occupying less floor area and requiring fewer operators. As a result, he argued, there was a need to cut an entire site and it was necessary to maintain the testing site in Germany as that is where R&D and pilot production of sensors was located.
www.micronas-tdk.com
Related articles:
Schaeffler must tighten belt, cut jobs
Continental cuts more jobs
Covid-19 hits automotive power chip market
Other articles on EEnews Europe
Fisker signs Foxconn to make its second electric car
Europe to build a digital twin of the earth
TSMC, UMC use water tankers in Taiwan drought
Raspberry Pi links sensors to IoT digital twin
NXP shows first details of edge AI i.MX9 processor
Source:: E.E.Newseurope
Analysis: Rafael Nadal v Stefanos Tsitsipas | Australian Open 2021 | Tennis | Eurosport
Tornado North Carolina. At least 3 dead, 10 injured in North Carolina tornado. tornado last night
At least 3 dead, 10 injured in North Carolina tornado. Tornado North Carolina A deadly tornado fueled by a major winter storm struck a coastal North Carolina community late Monday night and killed at least three people and injured 10 more. The tornado hit the Ocean Ridge Plantation area in Brunswick County, North Carolina, at about 11:50 p.m. Monday night, Brunswick County officials said. Several homes were destroyed and several others were "severely" damaged. Emergency management officials said they'd be sweeping through the area when the sun came up to search the destruction for any additional injuries or deaths. All told, there were four reports of tornadoes from severe weather spawned by major Winter Storm Uri. Storms also damaged homes and other structures and left at least four people injured Monday in Florida and Georgia. In Georgia, a tornado touched down in Damascus, a small community in the southwest corner of the state. Early County Fire Department Capt. Bobby Wimberly said initial reports from units that responded indicated one person was injured and several homes destroyed. “We don’t know the full details yet, they’re still on scene," Wimberly told weather.com in a phone call around 5:30 p.m. EST
Oncor Asks All Customers To Prepare For Power Outages Lasting ‘Extended Period Of Time