(Bloomberg) — The Malaysian semiconductor firm Unisem Bhd. will shut some plants for seven days and then run the facilities with reduced staffing to combat Covid-19, a fresh blow to the semiconductor supplies that carmakers and other companies rely on.
The company said it will close Ipoh plants in the state of Perak until Sept. 15 to curb the spread of Covid-19 and limit the number of employees who come to the plants after reopening. Unisem, which provides packaging and testing services, gets about 12% of its revenue from the auto sector, 28% from communications and 30% from consumer segments.
“We anticipate that the sales and production at our Ipoh plants (in Perak) will continue to be adversely impacted in the coming months due to headcount limitation until such time the pandemic subsides significantly,” the company said in a filing with the local stock exchange.
The closure is projected to cut about 2% from annual production, the company said. Unisem is estimated to generate about $360 million in revenue this year and has a market valuation of about $1.7 billion. Shares have climbed about 38% this year.
Malaysia has been struggling to contain a surge in Covid-19 cases, while keeping its economy on track. New reported infections soared to a peak of more than 20,000 a day during August and have since declined to about 18,000 as vaccinations accelerate.
Unisem conducted a private vaccination program from Sept. 1 to Sept. 3 where most of its employees received their first dose of the vaccine.
Story Link: Malaysian Semiconductor Firm Unisem Shuts Plants Until Sept. 15
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