Taiwan's APCB to shift printed circuit board assembly to mainland unit, cut jobs on island

Taiwan-based printed circuit board (PCB) maker APCB expects to discontinue production in the island by the end of the year and lay off hundreds of employees, as the company shifts manufacturing to a subsidiary in mainland China.

Production in Taiwan will cease from December 25, following three consecutive years of losses for APCB's plants on the island amid "a weak consumer electronics industry" and "rising raw material costs", the company said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

In a press conference on the same day, APCB chief financial officer Tsai Cheng-hung said the company will retain some personnel in research and development as well as sales in Taiwan, while all orders would be filled by its plant in Kunshan, a city in eastern Jiangsu province.

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APCB's manufacturing overhaul will involve the dismissal of around 360 employees, while roughly 50 staff will continue to work on the island, according to a report by Taiwan's Central News Agency, which cited Tsai.

An artist's rendition of APCB's four existing printed circuit board manufacturing facilities - two in Taiwan, one in Thailand and another one in mainland China. Photo: APCB alt=An artist's rendition of APCB's four existing printed circuit board manufacturing facilities - two in Taiwan, one in Thailand and another one in mainland China. Photo: APCB>

Shares of APCB in Taiwan fell almost 10 per cent on Wednesday.

According to APCB's disclosure in August, the company's operation in Kunshan, where nearly 1,800 employees are based, is larger than its other manufacturing sites.

The company's facility in Thailand, where it has more than 1,000 workers, has already been sold to a mainland Chinese rival. That deal was expected to be completed last quarter, according to previous APCB statements.

The shift in APCB's production strategy reflects the significant role that mainland China - the world's second-largest economy - still plays in the global electronics supply chain, despite US trade sanctions and recent efforts by some firms to diversify manufacturing to other Asian countries like India.

The world's biggest printed circuit board manufacturers are based in Taiwan. Photo: Shutterstock alt=The world's biggest printed circuit board manufacturers are based in Taiwan. Photo: Shutterstock>

Other major PCB producers in Taiwan have also been boosting investments on the mainland and Southeast Asia. Zhen Ding Tech Group, for example, announced in April a 700-million-yuan (US$99 million) programme to expand production in Shenzhen, in southern Guangdong province, and for the development of a new Thailand plant, which it started building in December 2023.

PCBs - on which a range of chips are mounted and can be packaged directly - manufactured by APCB are used in a variety of computer, consumer electronics, communications and automotive applications, according to the company. The firm added that its main customers are spread throughout the mainland, Taiwan, South Korea, the US and Europe.

While the world's biggest PCB suppliers are from Taiwan - including Zhen Ding and Unimicron Technology - most of their manufacturing operations are on the mainland, accounting for 65.6 per cent of total output in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Taiwan and other locations, primarily in Southeast Asia, accounted for 31.7 and 2.7 per cent, respectively, of total output in the same period, according to data from the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association.

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