Versión Español
EspañolThe US-based Microchip manufacturer Intel announced yesterday that it will close its local manufacturing and testing plant in Costa Rica by the end of 2014. Through a press release, the company said it will reduce its assembly and testing operations in Costa Rica over the next six months, and finally shut down the plant by the end of this year. The decision will mean laying off 55 percent of its workforce, leaving 1,500 Ticos unemployed.
The company based its decision on its search for improved competitiveness and efficiency, dismissing internal factors of the country.
“This was a difficult decision. The Corporation has had a close relationship with the community and with the government. Intel weighed multiple options, both internal and external. In the end, none of these options were considered feasible in the long run,” the company said in its statement.
Last night, the president of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, met with Mike Forrest, manager of the plant in the country, and with the executive director, Brian Krzanich, to discuss the decision. The corporation plans to transfer its Costa Rican production to Asia.
The corporation has assembled and tested processors for PCs and servers in Costa Rica since 1997, and by 2012, its production represented more than 6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country. According to the Foreign Trade Promoter of Costa Rica, the company had become the nation’s largest exporter, responsible for 20 percent of sales abroad.
Source: El Financiero.
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