Major companies including Samsung, NXP Semiconductors and Infineon Semiconductors have been forced to temporarily shut down their operations in Austin, Texas, due to power outages caused by severe winter weather, reports local daily Austin American-Statesman. “In response to the dire situation of the Texas utility grid, Austin Energy ordered all industrial and semiconductor manufacturers to idle or shut down," confirmed a consortium known as the Coalition for Clean, Affordable, Reliable Energy, adding that “all companies complied and were able to safely do so."
The report said about 200,000 Austin homes are still without power, with residents remaining in unheated conditions for more than 36 hours. It added that the shutdown could cost the companies millions of dollars, as interrupting the manufacturing process has the potential to ruin certain products.
However, Samsung issued a statement confirming that “with prior notice, appropriate measures have safely been taken for the facilities and wafers in production,” while NXP confirmed that it was working to maintain its Austin factories in a safe state to enable supply once operations restart. “Once necessary utility services are restored, our operations team will be able to evaluate the impact of the shut down, and when full production will resume,” it said.
