In late December and early next year, TI also plans to idle some undisclosed fabs amid a drop in demand. On average, the company sees fab utilization rates hitting the mid-40 percent range in the fourth quarter, compared to the mid-60 percent range in the third quarter. This represents TI's lowest fab utilization rates since the second half of 2001.

In a conference call with analysts, Ron Slaymaker, vice president and manager of investor relations for TI, said the company is also working to reduce inventories as a means to cut costs.

Slaymaker described the overall IC market as a ''significant downturn that will last for awhile.'' In a scheduled update, TI said it now expects revenue of $2.3 billion to $2.5 billion in Q4, down from prior revenue guidance of $2.83 billion to $3.07 billion in the period.

TI (Dallas) said it now expects earnings per share of 10 to 16 cents, down from prior guidance of 30 to 36 cents per share.

Going forward, visibility is limited in the first quarter, he said.

In October, TI it is in discussions with undisclosed potential buyers of its merchant baseband semiconductor business but would continue to support some of its custom baseband customers. TI said it would cut expenses in the wireless business by about one third, or more than $200 million per year, especially in its cellular baseband operation.

By: DocMemory
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