After losing its only customer for MicroLEDs, the Styrian chip and sensor manufacturer ams-Osram is almost completely halting the development of this new technology. This will cost the company almost 700 million euros and more than 500 employees could lose their jobs.
It is a big loss for the Styrian chip and sensor manufacturer ams-Osram, based in Premstätten near Graz. A lot of money was invested in the development of MicroLEDs and they even set up their own factory in Malaysia. But now the only customer they had before has dropped out. According to rumors it concerns Apple, but ams-Osram did not want to confirm this.
Hope for the car industry, separation from the multi-billion dollar factory in Malaysia
In total, the exit from MicroLED technology will cost the company 700 million euros, ams-Osram said in a statement on Friday. In addition, more than 500 employees at all company locations have been affected. However, some of them could be used in projects for the use of pixel-sized LEDs in the automotive industry, where ams-Osram still sees the biggest opportunities.
The board of directors of Aldo Kamper wants to part with the factory that ams-Osram built for a billion dollars (933 million euros) in Kulim, Malaysia, specifically for the hoped-for order.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
