[E]SSEX JUNCTION — GlobalFoundries is asking some longtime employees to take early retirement at its three semiconductor manufacturing sites in the United States, including its Vermont site, according to a spokesman.
The “voluntary separation” program is part of a larger cost cutting initiative that will look for other efficiency savings as well, said spokesman Jim Keller.
Each manufacturing site has been given a savings target. The buyouts are one way they plan to do that, Keller said. GlobalFoundries has semiconductor factories in Malta and Fishkill, New York, as well.
Layoffs are also a possibility, he said. “You can never rule it out,” Keller said regarding layoffs.
The savings initiative is part of ongoing efforts to remain competitive in a constantly shifting market. “We’re in a business that’s very dynamic and we want to keep up, and that means we’ve got to be as competitive as others in our industry,” Keller said.
There are 2,800 employees at the GlobalFoundries site in Essex Junction. Keller would not say how many are eligible for the early retirement program. Most of the workers eligible are in “support roles,” such as administrative, sales or finance.
At the same time, the Essex Junction facility has yet to fill many of the 200 positions the company said it would hire. Those positions are largely for engineers and other skilled workers involved in the semiconductor production.
That GlobalFoundries, one of the state’s largest employers, is looking to reduce its workforce some areas and expand it in others is a potent reminder of the labor markets demand for skilled workers.
“There’s absolutely a need, not just in Vermont, but in our industry as a whole,” Keller said, “There’s demand for highly skilled workers, and that’s why we continue to be supportive STEM programs for high schools and also for technical schools.”
STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
GlobalFoundries acquired the Essex Junction semiconductor site from IBM in 2015. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, but it’s owned by the investment company Mubadala — an investment firm owned by the government of Abu Dhabi.
Keller said there are strong indicators that Mubadala is still committed to the semiconductor business. They opened the Malta site, and there’s the continued investment in Essex Junction.
Additionally, GlobalFoundries is opening a factory in China to serve that market, Keller said.
