Vice-president Mike Snell said the current export controls placed by the US have had “some impact”, forcing it to scale down its operations in China.
Through a zoom call to its Batu Kawan facility here, Snell said the company would transfer more of its production processes to its facility in Penang.
A Lam Research spokesman later clarified that its expansion to Malaysia was not solely premised on the happenings in China, but also as part of an earlier plan to expand to Asia.
Snell cited two factors that, he said, were affecting the market now. “The first is a slowdown in demand in the semiconductor industry; and the second is export controls that are affecting shipments to certain Chinese customers, not all customers. And so it does have some impact on the company in total,” he said.
Lam Research, a provider of chip wafer fabrication equipment and services for the semiconductor industry, had reportedly started laying off some 10% more staff in China.
This followed an Oct 7 decision by the US department of commerce to place curbs on the sale of American semiconductor equipment and technology needed to manufacture chips in China, it was reported.
Reuters reported that Lam Research is one of three companies hit by the sales curb on Chinese chipmakers in a move seen as one to slow down China’s technological advances.
Lam Research CEO Timothy Archer had reportedly said it would fully comply with US orders and stop shipping to China. The company also said its revenue in 2023 could be reduced by US$2 billion to US$2.5 billion (RM8.8 billion to RM11 billion) due to the restrictions.
As of 2020, it had nine offices in China, located in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Hefei, Dalian and other places, with more than 600 employees.
Lam Research had spent close to RM1 billion in 2020 to open their sixth factory in Penang on a 340-acre site which includes a factory, warehouse and offices.
The Penang plant is the company’s eighth production facility. The other manufacturing sites are in Austria, South Korea and the US.
Earlier, Lam Research International Sdn Bhd (LRI), the company that runs the Penang factory, gave its commitment to use renewable energy through the use of 5,700 solar panels installed on its rooftop.
To date, over 1,000 such panels have been installed, with 18% of the power being used at its facility. The system is expected to yield about 3,000-megawatt-hour of power annually. LRI managing director and general manager Soon K Kek said it plans to go full on renewable energy (RE) by 2030 and to be net-zero by 2050.
Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow, who visited the factory, said the state plans to ask for more RE quota for factories in Penang in bolstering is green credentials.