Newport Wafer Fab: Staff warn sale delays could risk jobs

The Nexperia staff delegation was hosted by Newport West MP Ruth Jones

Staff at the UK's largest microchip plant have urged ministers to speed up approval for the facility's sale to a US company.

Its current owners were forced to sell over national security concerns.

Vishay agreed to acquire Newport Wafer Fab for $177m (£139m) after UK ministers ordered Chinese-owned Nexperia to sell its stake in the firm.

Staff at the site warned that "procrastination" over signing off the deal risked further job losses.

The UK government said it was "committed" to growing the semiconductor industry in the United Kingdom, including south Wales.

• Hundreds of microchip plant jobs saved by sale

• Planned job losses blamed on government restrictions

• Keep Welsh tech plant in Chinese hands, say staff

A dozen members of the Nexperia Newport Staff Association travelled to Westminster on Wednesday.

Principal engineer Denis Knight said they want the sale finalised swiftly to secure the future of the site.

"The only hold up now is the government," he said.

"We understand the complexities of it, and the due process, but we wouldn't want to see anymore job losses, or even the potential site closure, just because of any procrastination or delays that are avoidable."

He said workers had experienced "extraordinary uncertainty" since March 2022.

"We've come up to Westminster today to urge the government to get this done as quickly as possible," explained Mary Curtis, who works as a programme manager.

"We want to be excited by the future of a new multi-billion company taking ownership of the site but at the moment there's some nervousness obviously relating to whether or not and when that sale is actually going to conclude."

Denis Knight and Mary Curtis says they don't want avoidable delays

The delegation was hosted by Newport West Labour MP Ruth Jones, who claimed legal timescales for a decision on the matter had been missed.

"I've approached cabinet ministers, DSIT [Department for Science, Innovation and Technology] ministers and DCMS [Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport] ministers," she said.

"None of them can give me an answer about when the decision is going to be coming out."

"We don't anticipate any issues but the longer it drags on the more the new company will get anxious and maybe itchy feet and move on. We will lose vital investment into Newport West."

'National security has to come first'

The delegation addressed the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on semiconductors, chaired by former Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns.

"We're almost there, I've been raising it with ministers to ensure that everything is being done to get it over the line, I'm really optimistic," said the Conservative Vale of Glamorgan MP.

"This is an exciting American company that wants to invest in the UK and give reassurance to the staff."

Mr Cairns said Nexperia's acquisition was one of the first to be called in under new national security legislation.

"It's new legislation so the government are learning the process as they go through with it," he said.

"As you can imagine, as the staff recognise, national security has to come first."

The UK government was concerned about national security over the Chinese-owned Company for two reasons.

The first related to Nexperia's development of the Newport site, which the government said could "undermine UK capabilities" in producing compound semiconductors.

Secondly, the plant's location as part of a semiconductor cluster on the Duffryn industrial estate, could "facilitate access to technological expertise and know-how".

Semiconductors, or chips, made at the site are used in millions of electronic products, from smartphones to household equipment and cars.

A UK government spokesperson said: "We are committed to ensuring that the UK semiconductor industry continues to grow and thrive across the UK, including in south Wales."

"Our ambitious Semiconductor Strategy, which was published earlier this year, is providing investment of up to £1bn in the sector over the next decade."