IMI streamlines operations, closes China facility

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala-led Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI) is closing down its China facility as part of efforts to reduce business costs by focusing on strategic factories.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, IMI announced that all production works in its Chengdu hub have stopped since December 2024.

IMI said the facility completed its commitments to clients and remaining customer projects were transferred to other sites owned by the company.

Currently, IMI is working on concluding the closure process of the hub, starting with the transfer of assets and equipment, which has to be completed this month.

Afterward, the property will be turned over to the landlord in February.

Starting next month, IMI will also begin complying with local government regulations, entailing a six-month winding up period. Once it leaves Chengdu, the manufacturer looks to reorganize its global footprint by focusing resources on select facilities.

IMI CEO Louie Hughes said the closure of the Chengdu hub is expected to improve operational efficiency, which, in turn, should enhance product quality and service delivery.

“We are taking these steps to ensure operations remain aligned with the market’s demands, while enhancing our ability to serve customers with agility and cost-effectiveness,” Hughes said.

Prior to this, IMI also terminated its prototyping and manufacturing services in the United States last year, transferring these operations to factories in North America, Europe and Asia.

In Asia, IMI shut its sales office in Japan and the company is reducing its workforce in Malaysia and Singapore.

IMI is moving to trim business costs to strengthen financial standing.

Since downsizing its operations, IMI has slashed its net loss by 89 percent to $9.24 million as of the third quarter of 2024 from $85.26 million the previous year. Mainly, the company managed to pull off the feat by lowering spending by 18 percent to $772.02 million.

IMI, a subsidiary of AC Industrial Technology Holdings Inc., is a manufacturer of electronic products for the automotive, industrial, medical, power and telco industries. It manages 19 plants in nine countries across the world.