Power outages in Texas force Samsung to shut down semiconductor plant

Samsung has temporarily halted its chip production at its Austin, Texas facilities, due to the power outages in the state after Winter Storm Uri. The storm reportedly left some 200,000 Texans without power.

Samsung was asked to pull power at its semiconductor plant by Austin Energy power utility and thanks to the notice was able to take measures so as to not damage the tens of thousands of silicone wafers that are being manufactured in the plant. An unplanned power outage can result in millions in damages.

Samsung reportedly manufactures 14nm processors at its Austin fab.

Austin is home to other big manufacturers, including NXP Semiconductors and Infineon Semiconductors. Apple's Mac Pro is manufactured in Austin and has likely halted production as well.

Austin Energy has informed residents that power could remain down through Wednesday.

Source | Via