Solid-state flash memory company Solidigm has confirmed a second round of layoffs this year of employees at its new headquarters in Rancho Cordova.
A notice filed with Sacramento County states 172 employees will be laid off beginning Dec. 29, with notices issued to employees on Oct. 25.
"Due to the prolonged downturn in the semiconductor industry and its impact on market conditions, Solidigm has executed a workforce reduction," the company said in a statement sent by email. "The company is offering support and severance to colleagues who are departing."
The filing with the county and other relevant agencies lists dozens of positions included in the layoff. By number, however, the positions seeing the largest layoffs are product development engineer, with 27, and software engineer, with 15.
Combined with the layoff of 98 employees announced in July, Solidigm has this year reduced its local footprint of about 1,000 workers by about 25%.
That's also less than a year after the company moved its headquarters from San Jose to Rancho Cordova, signing a lease for 230,000 square feet at 10951 White Rock Road, in the White Rock Corporate Campus in Rancho Cordova.
Solidigm was created as a new company in 2021 when South Korean chip company SK hynix bought the flash memory business of Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) for $9 billion.
Despite incentives like the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act of 2022, also known as the CHIPS Act, the global market for memory chips has struggled this year amid more supply than demand. Solidigm originally forecast having as many as 1,900 local employees by 2027.
SK hynix's third-quarter earnings report showed a loss of 2.185 trillion Korean won ($1.6 billion) for the company, which has had quarterly losses in four consecutive quarters.
In a news release for the earnings report, the company noted improving sales for some products.
