AMI Semiconductor |
The semiconductor manufacturer AMIS, based at Pocatello, has been that city’s economic rock for more than a decade now. Up until its strong growth through the 90s, Pocatello was an economic struggler, watching the number of jobs at its old business mainstay – Union Pacific Railroad – gradually diminish. AMIS, that high tech firm on the hills north of town, has been the city’s biggest single source of strength since, by a considerable margin its biggest private employer.
After today, what happens in that regard is anyone’s guess. ON Semiconductor of Phoenix said today that it has bought AMIS, in a stock deal worth close to a billion dollars.
The rationale (and with some small side impact over in Oregon): “AMIS will immediately contribute exciting new products and capabilities in the medical and military/aerospace markets and will complement our existing automotive and industrial businesses,†Jackson said. “Over time, we plan to leverage the advanced sub-micron capabilities of our Gresham, Oregon, fabrication facility to achieve operational synergies and extend AMIS’s high voltage and low power offerings.â€
ON said that “a significant presence” will be maintained in Pocatello. You can imagine that Pocatellans will be spending a lot of time in the weeks ahead trying to discern exactly what that will mean for Pocatello.
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