Texas Instruments to lay off 1,700 staff

Struggling semiconductor firm Texas Instruments (TI) has reported it will lay off almost five percent of its workers - with 1,700 jobs to go.

The move comes as the firm attempts to reduce costs in its wireless division. TI says it will now attempt to refocus its OMAP processors so they can be optimised for embedded systems.

"We have a great opportunity to reshape our OMAP processor and wireless connectivity product lines to concentrate on embedded markets. Momentum is already building with new embedded applications and a broad set of customers, and we are accelerating our efforts in these areas," said senior vice president of embedded processing Greg Delagi.

"These job reductions are something we do with a heavy heart because they impact people we care deeply about. We will work closely with all employees affected by these changes to provide a range of assistance related to compensation, benefits and job search."

TI said it would be moving away from mobile chips earlier this year. Last September, the firm said it would no longer support long-term roadmaps for its mobile partners. Rumours of the company selling its mobile division to Amazon have also persisted.

The semiconductor market has seen growth this year. A recent study from research firm IHS projected that semiconductor revenue for the fourth quarter of 2012 should be up 2.8 perpent year-on-year.

While the market has seen growth this year, TI has struggled to keep up with expanding competition in the field. Several mobile device companies are starting to build their own chips using architecture designs licensed from ARM Holdings.

As TI moves away from mobile chips it will begin to focus on embedded systems. The company says that the embedded systems market will be good for it because it requires fewer resources and less investment.