Hobbled by high inventories, weak market

[SINGAPORE] The year 2013 had gone off on a slow start as major manufacturers came out from a period of high inventories and a generally weak semiconductor market.

Uncertainties that plagued the global economy, compounded with a softening mobile phone market, continued to affect business and consumer sentiment and, consequently, end-user demand throughout the year, leading to a substantial drop in manufacturing activity and new orders in Asia.

Just last month, semiconductor giant Globalfoundries axed 150 workers, or 2.5 per cent of its Singapore employee base, citing "softening of the current macro-economic climate" as the reason for its reduction. It also cut its global headcount of 13,000 by 3 per cent as part of its effort to "streamline its global workforce to improve competitiveness".