In recent years, the global semiconductor industry has experienced a serious supply-demand imbalance, resulting in plummeting chip prices and high inventories. This wave of industry winter has also swept the IC industry in Chinese mainland, and many companies have fallen into operational difficulties and even faced the risk of bankruptcy. In order to cope with the difficulties of the industry, many IC companies have adopted layoff measures. According to statistics, since the second half of 2023, dozens of IC companies have announced layoffs, involving thousands of people. Among them, there are some well-known enterprises, such as UNISOC, Cambrian Zhixin, Zhaoxin Integration, etc.
The main reason for the layoffs is that the collapse in chip prices has led to a sharp decline in revenue. Since 2023, global chip prices have continued to fall, and some chip prices have even fallen by more than 50%. This has led to a significant decline in revenue and compressed profit margins for many IC companies, which have to reduce costs through layoffs. And due to the collapse of chip prices, many IC companies have a serious inventory backlog and huge financial pressure. In order to alleviate the financial pressure, companies have to reduce labor costs by laying off employees.
With the rapid development of the global semiconductor industry, the industry competition is becoming increasingly fierce. Some enterprises with weak technical strength and poor competitiveness are eliminated in the market competition, and can only reduce costs and prolong survival time through layoffs.
In addition to layoffs, there are also some IC companies that can't even pay their employees' salaries. According to statistics, since 2023, dozens of IC companies have defaulted on employee wages, involving hundreds of millions of yuan.
Although the domestic IC industry is currently in the cold winter, industry insiders generally believe that this is only a stage phenomenon in the development of the industry. With the recovery of the global economy and the adjustment of the semiconductor industry, China's IC industry will usher in new development opportunities.
The author believes that under the pressure of the cold winter of the industry, some weaker enterprises will be eliminated, and the concentration of the industry will be further improved. Only by mastering the core technology can we be invincible in the market competition. Therefore, in the future, IC companies will pay more attention to technological innovation. Although it is currently facing some difficulties and challenges, as long as we seize the opportunities and meet the challenges, China's IC industry will be able to achieve high-quality development.