Around 45 jobs are to go at a Crumlin factory after its Malaysian owners announced plans for its closure.
Unisem, a global provider of semiconductor assembly and test services, said the factory will close by the end of this year if a solution to its problems was not found.
The company has said it believes there is no alternative except to close its UK operation based on the Pen-y-Fan Industrial Estate.
A spokesman for the company said: “Since 2010 the company has seen a significant reduction in the volume of customer orders and sales revenues. Even with the changes put in place and a reduction of staff last November, the situation has continued with projections for the coming months showing no significant improvement.
“Due to continuing difficult business conditions in the semiconductor assembly and test market and the failure of a number of development programs to achieve their projected business levels, the company is expected to continue to be cash flow negative.
“Without being able to lower known operating costs and after very careful consideration the management of the Unisem Group believes that there is no alternative but to announce a proposal to close operations in the UK. Whilst all avenues are currently being explored, should a solution not be found, it is currently anticipated that production will cease on December, 2013 with all staff being made redundant.”
The company originally opened its Crumlin site in 1995 and has approximately 7,800 employees worldwide with factories in Malaysia, China, and America.
According to the company’s own literature, its Welsh site provides “ultra-fast prototype, pre-production prototype and fast-turn builds” for semiconductor manufacturers and also provides a range of testing solutions for manufacturers.
The company has already put the 24 acre site up for sale.