Industrial News

MANILA  -Global technology firm Dyson is investing P11 billion in a new research and manufacturing center in the Philippines, as part of a larger expansion plan in Asia and Europe. The Singapore-based company on Wednesday said its planned technology center— which will span the equivalent of 92 basketball courts—would be located in First Philippine Industrial Park in Sto. Tomas, Batangas and should start operations in 2024. It will bring together their research, development and advanced motor manufacturing capabilities under one roof. “The new campus in Sto. Tomas, Batangas will be one of the largest investments and most advanced technology manufacturing [...]

The Philippines has issued the implementing rules and regulations for the amendments to the Public Service Act. The Act allows for 100 percent foreign ownership of public services in the country such as railways and airports. The Philippines government issued the implementing rules and regulations to the Public Service Act in late March 2023, which is set to impact foreign ownership of public services in the Philippines. The Public Service Act allows 100 percent foreign ownership of public services in the Philippines. However, the Act was amended in February 2022 to clearly define the difference between public services and public utilities, since [...]

Taiwan-based printed circuit board (PCB) makers have expedited transferring manufacturing away from China, with several establishing new plants or extending current lines in Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Industry insiders pointed out that PCBs do not garner the same welcome as semiconductors, due to wastewater issues and because the PCB industry consumes large quantities of energy and water. Thailand According to Woranath Khemasiri, secretary general of Southeast Asia and India Business Group at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Thailand has continued to improve its PCB industry manufacturing value chain by providing investment incentives, such as lower manufacturing costs and stable water [...]

Tech consultancy giant Accenture plans to cut 19,000 jobs, or 2.5% of its workforce, and has lowered its annual revenue and profit forecasts, becoming the latest behemoth to trim expenses in the wake of dwindling global economic conditions. The reduction in jobs, over half of which affects individuals in non-billable corporate functions, will be undertaken in the next 18 months, Accenture said in an SEC filing (PDF) Thursday. The company had increased its workforce by 38,000 in the financial year ended February 2023 to serve the increased demand in its services and solutions, it said. “For the second quarter of fiscal 2023, [...]

In my lifetime, I’ve seen two demonstrations of technology that struck me as revolutionary. The first time was in 1980, when I was introduced to a graphical user interface—the forerunner of every modern operating system, including Windows. I sat with the person who had shown me the demo, a brilliant programmer named Charles Simonyi, and we immediately started brainstorming about all the things we could do with such a user-friendly approach to computing. Charles eventually joined Microsoft, Windows became the backbone of Microsoft, and the thinking we did after that demo helped set the company’s agenda for the next 15 [...]

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Air Force (PAF) received training facilities from Australia through the Philippines-Australia Enhanced Defense Cooperation Program (EDCP) on Monday. According to a statement from the Department of National Defense on Tuesday, the air force received a close air support part task trainer, a classroom, and a debriefing facility from Australia. Australian Ambassador to the Philippines HK Yu officially turned over the facilities, along with their corresponding documents, on Monday. “With this facility, the PAF will be able to address the technical training opportunities such as the use of simulator and actually flight events,” Defense Acting Undersecretary [...]

SAN FRANCISCO, United States  -Laid off US tech workers from abroad on employment-based visas are scrambling to find new jobs to avoid being forced to uproot their lives and leave the country. More than 150,000 US-based tech jobs have disappeared in recent months, delivering an economic blow to Silicon Valley not seen the since the dot-com bubble collapsed in the early 2000s. As the massive wave of redundancies spreads across US tech firms, many of those left jobless are here on H1-B or other visas pegged to their jobs, according to California congresswomen Anna Eshoo and Zoe Lofgren.   Eshoo [...]

By enacting the CHIPS and Science Act in August 2022, policymakers in Washington took a historic step toward attracting investment in semiconductor production and innovation in the U.S. While the new law must still be implemented effectively and efficiently to realize its potential, the CHIPS Act has already sparked private investments in the U.S. that will strengthen the U.S. economy, job creation, and supply chain resilience. From the time the CHIPS Act was introduced in the Spring of 2020 through the months following its enactment, companies in the semiconductor ecosystem announced dozens of projects to increase manufacturing capacity in the U.S. Some [...]

JAPANESE electronics manufacturer MinebeaMitsumi, Inc. is undertaking a P4-billion expansion project in Naga City, Cebu, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said. In a statement on Tuesday, the DTI said that Philippine Trade and Investment Center-Tokyo Commercial Counselor Dita Angara-Mathay reported the company’s expansion proposal. According to Ms. Angara-Mathay, the Japanese firm plans to upgrade the production of optical image stabilizer components used in smartphones. MinebeaMitsumi also operates facilities in Santo Tomas, Batangas; Mariveles, Bataan, and Danao City, Cebu. The DTI said full operations at the expanded operation are expected to begin by March. “The expansion project will require incremental [...]

FLORIDABLANCA, Pampanga — The Philippines on Tuesday received its P6.84-billion Ground Based Air Defense System, and a new medium-lift transport aircraft for the Philippine Air Force. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the acquisition of the new equipment is a testament to the commitment of government to modernize the military. “While we strive to live with peace with others, it is crucial that our Armed Forces would be modernized to be ready for all eventualities,” the military's commander-in-chief said in a speech. “We fortify our capabilities to provide humanitarian assistance in times of calamities and disasters,” he said. “This is a [...]