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Memory chipmaker's U.S. unit files for Chapter 11

Qimonda, an affiliate of Germany-based Infineon Technologies, is seeking bankruptcy protection for its U.S. unit.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Brooke Crothers
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Qimonda, an affiliate of Germany-based Infineon Technologies, is seeking protection under Chapter 11 for its U.S. unit, the company said Monday. Separately, a research report was released today forecasting dim prospects for chipmakers in 2009.

The U.S. unit of Qimonda AG, one of the world's largest memory chip manufacturers, said in a statement that it is seeking bankruptcy protection. "The US subsidiaries Qimonda North America Corp. and Qimonda Richmond L.L.C. filed for creditor protection under Chapter 11 on February 20, 2009," the company said in a statement Monday. "No disruptions to operations, particularly to customer deliveries, are expected to result from this," the statement said.

In January, Qimonda AG filed for insolvency protection in Germany after it was not able to secure government financing.

The company listed the following vital statistics on its Web site:

  • Pioneer in 300mm manufacturing: Almost 90 percent of the DRAM bits shipped are 300mm
  • About 13,500 employees worldwide (status: December 31, 2007)
  • 3.61 billion EUR net sales in Financial Year 2007

In related news, a report released by market research firm In-Stat forecasts continued contraction of worldwide chip sales.

"The global recession will wreak havoc on semiconductor sales this year," the report said. Worldwide semiconductor revenue will decline by nearly 20 percent in 2009 to $199.2 billion, the firm said. The industry will not recover to 2007 levels until at least 2012. This echoes recent comments from Morris Chang, chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co..

"Declining confidence resulting from recent shocks and increased uncertainty about the future will lead to more conservative spending even after liquidity improves and the economic recovery is well underway," wrote Jim McGregor, an In-Stat analyst. Revenue growth in 2010 will be modest, at 11.8 percent, the report added.