Global player [discrete semiconductor business]

Given all the fuss that surrounds the system-on-a-chip end of the semiconductor business, you might be forgiven for thinking nobody is making discrete devices any more. The reality is that rather than eliminating the need for traditional power analogue and linear devices, very large scale integration has stimulated the demand for key classes of discretes especially in the areas of power control and power saving - at the same time prompt distinct polarisation of the industry. On Semiconductor's principal contribution to this process has been a restructuring of its manufacturing operations, involving the loss of some 3000 jobs and the movement of operations to locations offering lower costs, including the company's manufacturing plants at Roznov in the Czech Republic and Piestany in Slovakia. A move described by the president and chief executive as part of an overall strategy to move all manufacturing to the lowest cost area of the world where cheap labour is plentiful.