Struggling hard drive maker Western Digital Corp said Wednesday it will cut a further 1,950 jobs in Singapore and close its manufacturing facility there. The company will transfer all manufacturing from Singapore to its plant in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – where the labor costs are considerably cheaper – by the end of January. The latest round of job cuts come in addition to the 2,500-strong staff reduction announced in August and will reduce Western Digital’s employment in Singapore from roughly 2,800 to 750. Roughly 100 manufacturing staff will be transferred to Malaysia.
For the time being, Western Digital will maintain a presence in Singapore through its electronics design center and a customer service center. But of remaining 750 employees there, about 700 work in the customer service center, which the company is in negotiations to sell to a third party by the end of January. Western Digital will take a one-time $15m restructuring charge related to the moves during its second fiscal quarter ending December 31.
