Renesas Electronics will close the Tokyo Device Division (Ome, Tokyo) of Renesas Eastern Japan Semiconductor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Renesas Electronics, near the end of March 2012. Renesas plans to proceed with the necessary measures while consulting with customers, including transferring production volume at the Tokyo Device Division to other Renesas manufacturing sites and discontinuing part of the products.

The company also plans to accumulate excess production by front-loading the production schedule for those products that require time to shift production to alternate sites.

Since its establishment in 1963 as Ome Electronics Kogyosho, the Tokyo Device Division of Renesas Eastern Japan Semiconductor has specialized in the assembly and test of devices such as transistors, analog ICs, LCD drivers, and memory devices. Its semiconductor assembly operations focus on large-capacity memory products employing multilayer chip-stacking technology and single-wafer testing technology.

In addition to back-end production for Renesas Electronics, the Tokyo Device Division has taken steps to expand its contract production business by leveraging the exclusive technologies mentioned above. However, the rise of overseas competitors, particularly in Asia, has led to fierce competition and an extremely unfavorable business climate.

Talks are planned between labor and management regarding the treatment of the employees of the Tokyo Device Division following its closure.