AU Optronics has stopped processing operations in its three plants in Taiwan after the region was hit by an earthquake.
Workers at three factories in the northern part of the island have been sent home after Poseidon voiced his displeasure yesterday.
Contract chip makers TSMC and UMC said all there operations remained normal. Apparently the earth moves a lot for TSMC and UMC and they are used to it.
AU Optronics is the world’s number four flat panel maker and it is uncertain how much capacity would be affected.
As quakes go, it was not a particularly bad one. It had a preliminary magnitude of 4.9 and there were no casualties or damage immediately reported. Stopping all three plants is quite unusual. So far there is no indication how long the plants will remain closed.
AU supplies major brands such as HP, Dell and Sony and there have been no statements issued from these either. It is assumed that they have enough stock on hand.
http://news.techeye.net/hardware/au-optronics-suspends-processing-in-taiwan-plants