STMicro to invest $60 million in French plant facing restructuring

By Nathan Vifflin

“

(Reuters) -Chipmaker STMicroelectronics on Wednesday announced a $60 million investment for its plant in Tours, France, where it plans to develop a pilot line for advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology.

“

The Franco-Italian firm said it will develop the next generations of an advanced process at the plant. It has been moving older chipmaking lines away from Tours amid a major restructuring announced last October.

“
“

“This program is focused on advanced manufacturing infrastructure and brings redefined missions for some sites in France and Italy to support their long-term success,” STMicro said in a statement.

“

STMicro, one of Europe’s largest chipmakers, is carrying out a cost-cutting plan after a multi-year-long downturn hit its main markets, planning job cuts in plants such as Tours that have sparked opposition from unions and stakeholders.

“

The Italian and French governments own a combined 27.5% share in the chipmaker through a holding company.

“

The new technology, called Panel-Level Packaging (PLP), allows STMicro to manufacture chips on a large square panel, instead of small circular silicon wafers.

“

The company currently uses the technology for one customer at its plant in Muar, Malaysia, where it manufactures over five million chips a day, it said.

“

PLP cuts a number of manufacturing steps chipmakers typically make in Asia, where fabrication costs are lower, allowing them to be made in Europe due to economies of scale and greater automation.

“

The chipmaker expects the pilot line to be operational in the third quarter of 2026.

“

(Reporting by Nathan Vifflin in Gdansk; Editing by Sharon Singleton)