Separately, Infineon planned to shut down its Munich-Neuperlach chip facility, but it now may have found a way to sell it.

The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that the group plans to break up its central R&D division here. A company spokesman confirmed these plans. According to the spokesman, the move does not mean the R&D division will be shutdown since no layoffs are planned. "Call it a restructuring process," the spokesman said.

That means 120 employees will continue R&D projects within Infineon's several departments. However, some personnel will be transferred from Munich, since memory development is located in Dresden while automotive and other R&D is conducted in Villach, Austria.

Infineon said the move is needed to achieve closer connections between development and production. "This means that the R&D results will transfer quicker into marketable products," the spokesman said. Infineon wants to begin dispersing its central R&D unit as early as at the end of this quarter.

Infineon also will eliminate central management of its R&D activities. Nevertheless, Infineon will attempt to retain synergies between its divisions, the spokesman said. "We will still be networking in the future."

According to the spokesman, only 120 employees are affected by this decision, "and Infineon has about 7,000 employees worldwide that are involved in research and development."

The spokesman also confirmed that Infineon has opened negotiations with a potential buyer for the Munich-Neuperlach chip production facility. Details of the possible sale were not disclosed.

Technical assets include equipment for processing special semiconductors on 150-mm wafers. That narrows the number of likely buyers since the facility is also used to produce high-frequency products using a SiGe process.

By: DocMemory
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