US-based pure-play foundry GlobalFoundries is said to be in the midst of personnel restructuring, with speculation suggesting a relocation of certain job roles from Singapore and Taiwan to India. However, the company has not officially confirmed these rumors.
According to the Chinese news outlet Jiwei, GlobalFoundries is undergoing personnel restructuring and planning to lay off procurement and finance positions in regions in Singapore and Taiwan while moving those positions to India. Sources told Jiwei that a few senior employees received notices and will be dismissed before Christmas in 2024.
India is striving to become a new hub for the semiconductor industry. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone on March 13 for three semiconductor facilities, including a wafer fab built by PSMC and operated by Tata. The plant, the first commercial wafer fab in 35 years in India, is expected to produce chips by the end of 2026 on the 28nm process node. The investment proposal by Tower Semiconductor, which also applied for setting up a wafer fab in India, has yet to be cleared by the Indian government, as Tower Semiconductor has legal disputes with its joint venture partner, and the Indian government said it would not interfere in the contract issue between the duo.
It remains to be seen whether the Jiwei rumor is credible and can be seen as an indicator of GlobalFoundries' plan in India. GlobalFoundries is the third recipient under the US CHIPS Act, obtaining US$1.5 billion in incentives to support the company's three manufacturing projects in New York and Vermont.
GlobalFoundries said in its annual report released in March that its competitors have announced expansions and may continue to expand in the US and Europe, which could materially and adversely affect its competitive position. GlobalFoundries had been planning to expand its production capacity in China before deciding to withdraw in 2022.
Pradheepa Raman, the chief people officer at GlobalFoundrices since September 2022, may have led the personnel restructuring if the rumor is credible. According to GlobalFoundries, Raman, who holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Anna University in Tamil Nadu and a master's degree in Human Resources Management from Rutgers in New Jersey, has global responsibility for GlobalFoundries' human resources practice areas, including talent acquisition, development and retention, etc.
GlobalFoundries has a subsidiary, GlobalFoundries Engineering Private Limited, based in Bangalore, Karnataka, which serves as a design center and regional office. The company's manufacturing facilities are located in the US, Germany, and Singapore.
