Endgame in Portugal for Qimonda
Anke Schröter reported on March 27, 2009 (http://www.evertiq.com/news/13776) :
“Yesterday, the Portuguese subsidiary of German memory chip manufacturer Qimonda had to file for insolvency. This means that the facility in Vila do Conde will probably be closed down, Portuguese media reported.
However, the management is trying to save the location and the company, the reports continued. They are now primarily focused on possible restructuring plans that will help secure the 1300 jobs at the facility in Vila do Conde. The difficult situation within the global DRAM market was given as reason for the insolvency filing.
As reported earlier, Portugal had promised to help the entire Qimonda group with an unspecified double-digit percentage figure - providing that the facility in Vila do Conde would be maintained.”
Only a couple of years ago and intermittently since then the Portuguese government had been pouring allegedly over 100 million Euros in subsidies into this project and bragging Qimonda had significantly contributed to upgrade Portuguese foreign trade structure from one proper of a low tech country to one characteristic of a medium- high tech nation. What might have gone wrong? Was it the management strategy? Did Qimonda’s products become suddenly obsolete, or was the crisis just triggered by a price plunge in a market prone to high volatility? The Portuguese minister of the economy angrily reacted that he was going to try to get the subsidies returned “to the last cent/tostão”. Had the government miscalculated the soundness of the project in terms of costs and benefits, and of its durability? Had the government overestimated the social benefits of Qimonda for Portugal? Why did the EU commission abstain of any interference? Should it interfere and throw this firm a lifeline? After all this would be the only semiconductor still left in Europe...
Who messed things up?
posted by Carlos A. Páscoa Machado @ 7:45 PM
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