Challenges persist for Samsung's lucrative semiconductor business but the company is hopeful that things will start looking up in the second half of this year. Samsung is now making some changes at its chip factory in a bid to improve efficiency and better respond to market demand.
Samsung is specifically adjusting the construction schedule at its Pyeongtaek Plant 4, P4, to build the PH2 cleanroom at the facility. The follows the reported construction suspension of the new Pyeongtaek Plant 5 line.
Samsung's aligning its construction plans with market dynamics
Pyeongtaek is one of Samsung's main manufacturing hubs for semiconductors. This is where Samsung's foundry operations are concentrated and also where the company produces memory chips. Pyeongtaek Plants 1, 2, and 3 are already operational while P4 and P5 are under construction.
With work on P5 being halted for now, Samsung will be focusing on getting the PH2 cleanroom at P4 ready, as it will be used as a dedicated facility for contract chip manufacturing. Samsung is hard at work to expand its foundry capacity so that it can steal more clients away from TSMC.
The PH3 cleanroom will also be built at the P4 line which will be used for DRAM and other memory products. Samsung has reportedly made changes to its construction plans as it views demands for these products to rise in the near future, so it wants to be ready with the capacity to meet that demand.
While Samsung had previously said that work on the P5 line was halted for inspections, market analysts believe that the company is likely taking it slow due to the market slowdown. Samsung has been hit hard by the challenging market conditions, so much so that it has cut all bonuses for chip division employees this year.
