FEATURED VIDEO

Sponsored By:


SLIDE SHOWS
From the data center to the digital home office, ChannelWeb serves up some of the latest IT gear that is guaranteed to put cash back into the pockets of businesses and consumers.
IBM Rational AppScan Express Edition, IBM's new software, is an automated security testing solution designed to help small- and mid-size companies address both external and internal Web security threats.
From mobile phones to network infrastructure to fun desktop applications, here's a look at 10 products that embrace Linux and other open-source ways of life.
INSIDE CHANNELWEB
techcareers logo Search Jobs:


  

Post Resume|Employers

Recent Post:


Automotive Market Segment Director
Silicon Labs seeking Automotive Market Segment Director in Austin, TX
spacer

AMD Says New CEO Misquoted On Fab Sell-Off


By Damon Poeter, ChannelWeb
5:19 PM EDT Thu. Jul. 24, 2008
It's been barely a week since Dirk Meyer took over for Hector Ruiz as CEO of struggling chip maker Advanced Micro Devices, but the new boss is already discovering the perils of the media spotlight.

In a story by the Austin American-Statesman published July 18, Meyer is reported to have said AMD "is just months away from a major restructuring that will spin the manufacturing operations off into a separate company, with new ownership."

AMD is officially headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., but maintains its largest base of operations in Austin, Texas, and a good deal of corporate news emerges first in the local newspaper.

The sentence about AMD's "major restructuring," paraphrased by the American-Statesman reporter rather than directly quoted, was seized upon by the business and technology media as the most direct statement to date about AMD's long-discussed but detail-starved plans for going "asset light" with regards to its expensive silicon fabrication operations.

The only problem? Meyer never said that, according to AMD.

"What Dirk said is that we planned to transform how we manufacture wafers, but we haven't gone in to any details about what the specifics of the 'asset smart' strategy are going to entail," said Drew Prairie, an AMD investor relations spokesperson Thursday.

In a more recent version of the American-Statesman story, the part about AMD plans to "spin off its manufacturing operations into a separate company, with new ownership" is attributed to analyst opinion, rather than Meyer. The new CEO is still reported as saying he "hopes AMD is just months away from a major restructuring."

Contacted by ChannelWeb in an e-mail to clarify the change, American-Statesman reporter Kirk Ladendorf wrote back: "My editor agrees that we need to do a separate story on the subject in the next few days in which I hope to quote pretty much everything Dirk Meyer had to say on the subject during the interview. So you'll have to wait 'til that runs."

Ruiz first tossed out the phrase "asset light" in a call with analysts in early 2007. It has since evolved into the "asset smart" strategy in the lexicon of AMD public statements. AMD said in its most recent earnings call that it is selling off its consumer electronics division, a lightening of its assets to be sure, but "asset light" or "asset smart" has long been understood to refer specifically to the company's enormously capital-intensive silicon fabrication operations. Whether the strategy involves selling fabs outright or streamlining operations is some other way is a subject of much debate in the financial and technology media.

AMD is one of just two volume manufacturers of microprocessors for PCs and servers that owns and operates its own fabrication plants. Market leader Intel is the other.


RATE THIS ARTICLE Worse 1 2 3 4 5 Better
CHANNELWEB MARKETSPACE >> (Sponsored Links)
LATEST NEWS >>
October 07, 2008 10:32 PM
October 07, 2008 07:26 PM
October 07, 2008 05:45 PM
October 07, 2008 04:38 PM
October 07, 2008 04:23 PM
RELATED BLOG >>
Photo
The financial crisis is hammering technology stocks, and Apple is getting hit hard. But solution providers say the uniqueness of the Mac could insulate it from a potential consumer spending slowdown.
ADVERTISEMENT




CHANNEL SERVICES >>