Dec. 28, 2001 – Tokyo, Japan – Major semiconductor testing equipment maker Advantest Corp. is closing down two domestic manufacturing units in January, the Financial Times reported.

Advantest Components Corp., based in Ora, Gunma Prefecture, will end operations and transfer one of its divisions to an Advantest unit in Otone, Saitama Prefecture. Another subsidiary is due to sell the production facilities for its mainstream products to a rival domestic manufacturer, and negotiations are under way to transfer personnel as well.

Advantest is expected to slip into the red this fiscal year for the first time since its Tokyo Stock Exchange listing in 1983, damaged by the collapse of the information technology bubble and a recession in the semiconductor field. Chipmakers have been cutting back on facility investment, forcing Advantest to take restructuring measures that will reduce its workforce by 10%, or 500 people.

More job cuts may be on the way, officials said.