Wolfspeed closing chip-making plant at Durham campus

In a quarterly earnings report released on Wednesday, Wolfspeed confirmed its plans to close its chip-making plant at its campus in Durham.

A spokesperson for Wolfspeed said the 150mm device fab that will close is part of multiple facilities at the Durham campus on Silicon Drive.

In the report, the tech company said it plans to transition device production to its 200-millimeter chip factory in Mohawk Valley, New York. According to the company, the new Mohawk Valley plant is producing results at “significantly” lower costs than the Durham plant.

“This improved profitability gives us the confidence to accelerate the shift of our device fabrication to Mohawk Valley, while we assess the timing of the closure of our 150mm device fabricator in Durham,” the company said.

According to Wolfspeed CEO Gregg Lowe, the company will remained based in Durham and have a substantial employee presence there.

A representative with Wolfspeed told WRAL News the Durham campus has several factories. The representative said the Mohawk Valley facility is able to make slightly larger fabrication products than in Durham. They said the larger products are more profitable, which is why the company is moving fabrication to New York.

The representative said the Durham factory will close in the “next year or so,” and the closing is not imminent. WRAL News has learned hundreds of jobs would be impacted, although more specifics will not be released until the company’s next report in November.

It is expected employees will have opportunities to move to other jobs within the company.

Wolfspeed has about 4,000 employees throughout the country, which includes locations in Durham, New York and Arkansas.