Hynix To Cut Exec Workforce And Salaries

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Seeking to cut costs amid a deep memory downturn, troubled Hynix Semiconductor Inc. will slash its workforce and trim executive salaries, according to reports. South Korean memory supplier Hynix will slash the number of its executives by 30 percent, reduce its CEO's pay by 30 percent and pay for other executives by 10-to-20 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal. Cash-strapped Hynix is also looking to raise up to 1 trillion won ($690.6 million), according to the Associated Press. It is looking to raise capital from creditors and will not seek a government bail-out, according to the report. The Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), the single largest shareholder of Hynix, plans to sell its combined 36 percent stake that it holds with eight other companies in the chip maker. The stake is worth $2.7 billion. According to report, KEB owns about 8.2 percent of Hynix. Other shareholders include the Korea Development Bank, Woori Bank, Shinhan Bank and Kookmin Bank. At the same time, Hynix also plans to shut down some fab to help its bottom line. It recently announced plans to accelerate the retirement of its 200-mm fabs, reducing overall manufacturing capacity by 30 percent. But amid large losses and a memory downturn, Hynix has also recently announced the grand opening of its new, 300-mm NAND fab in Korea. Seeking to generate cash, loss-ridden Hynix recently said it plans to sell a small stake in its Chinese joint fab venture to Numonyx B.V. for $100 million, according to reports. Hynix is seeking to generate cash amid losses. Hit by the memory downturn, Hynix recently reported revenues of 1.86 trillion won ($1.82 billion) for the quarter, up 16 percent from the previous quarter. Net loss for the quarter amounted to 711 billion won ($697.5 million). This compares a net profit of 213.5 billion won a year earlier. Hynix posted a loss of 675 billion won ($677.4 million) in the first quarter. Other memory makers are also suffering amid the downturn, including Elpida, Micron, Powerchip, ProMos, Qimonda, Spansion, among others.