Seoul, South Korea-based Samsung, a multinational conglomerate and semiconductor manufacturer, has announced that it would be closing its Central Processing Unit project at the company’s Samsung Austin Research & Development Center in Austin, Texas by the end of 2019. The closure will result in approximately 290 layoffs.
According to a company spokesperson, the closure will not impact the Samsung Austin Semiconductor manufacturing facility,’ and that the closure decision was based on a thorough assessment of Samsung’s business and its need to stay competitive in the marketplace. “These things are very tough. People always wonder, ‘Did they treat them right?’ And we did. It’s unfortunate that they are losing their jobs, but it is based upon the fact that we’re always assessing our business.”
Since the Austin design team appears to also run the San Jose design team, it is not known how many of the 290 layoffs will take place at a similar unit closure at the company’s Advanced Computer Lab in San Jose, California.
It appears that Samsung is curtailing the design of its own custom core-CPU chips which are based on the intellectual property of Cambridge, England-based ARM Holdings, a semiconductor design firm, in favor of licensing the actual CPU design from ARM.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?