Dec. 4, 2001 – Malaysia – 1st Silicon Malaysia Sdn Bhd is holding on to its 850 workers despite the current global economic uncertainties.

CEO Claudio Loddo said the company has never cut its work force because getting experienced workers was not an easy task. “We are not going to cut (our work force) unless we are on our knees. Work force is scarce and it takes many years to train someone to master the required skills,” he said.

The Financial Times reported that Loddo was speaking after receiving the ISO 9001:2000 certification from Norway-based Det Norske Veritas.

Loddo also commented on the company’s proposed listing on the NASDAQ next year, saying that 1st Silicon was now adopting a wait-and-see stance because the current economic uncertainties are not conducive for a listing. “We will wait until a situation presents itself where we can have an attractive IPO.”

Loddo commented that 1st Silicon expected to ramp up its production to 10,000 wafers/month by next year. “Ramping it up to 10,000 wafers a month would mean reaching the limit of the capacity we have today,” he said.