Japan’s Kioxia to cut wafer start production volume by 30% at two plants

Japan’s Kioxia Corp said on Friday it would slash wafer start production volume by about 30% at its Yokkaichi and Kitakami flash memory plants from October.

“The company will continue to review and adjust operations as needed,” it said in a statement, adding it remained confident in the mid- to long-term growth outlook for the flash memory market.

Rival memory chipmaker Micron Technology on Thursday said it was cutting its investment plans by 30% amid a fall in demand for PCs and smartphones and reducing investment in fabrication by 50% in the new fiscal year.

Weakening global demand for electronic devices is hitting Japan. The country’s output of electronic parts and devices in August fell 6.3% from the prior month largely due to falling memory chip production, the government said on Friday.