A former high-level Samsung Electronics executive was indicted on Monday for industrial espionage as it is alleged that he stole trade secrets in the form of blueprints and designs for an advanced Samsung chipmaking factory in order to create an identical one in China. South Korean prosecutors say the executive’s actions jeopardized national economic security, according to a report by the Reuters News Agency.
Samsung
Japan-Based OLED Manufacturer JOLED Files for Bankruptcy
JOLED, a Japanese manufacturer of OLED-based panels and products that was formed by the merger of the OLED divisions of both Panasonic and Sony, filed for bankruptcy protection in the Tokyo District Court on Monday. According to the filing, the company reported that it has debts totaling ¥33.7 billion ($257 million).
Learn more about the bankruptcy of JOLED…
[Read more…] about Japan-Based OLED Manufacturer JOLED Files for BankruptcyChip Makers Threaten to Scale Back U.S. Plans Citing Inaction by Congress
Major American and Asian chip makers warned this week that they may scale back their planned investments in building U.S. semiconductor production if Congress doesn’t finally move forward and pass the CHIPS Act. The CHIPS Act is legislation the administration seeks to build up a more robust U.S.-based semiconductor supply chain.
Learn more on chip makers pulling back on U.S. fab projects
[Read more…] about Chip Makers Threaten to Scale Back U.S. Plans Citing Inaction by CongressWith Demand Slack & Inventory Levels Building, Samsung Cuts Procurement
Is an Industrywide Slowdown in Tech Beginning?
Samsung Electronics is taking action to hold back on procurement orders and asking suppliers for concessions, such as delayed deliveries, order reductions, and more in the wake of a concerning buildup of inventory. While the action is said to be temporary, concerns over a slowing global economy make it difficult to determine how long the company will deem these actions are necessary.
See more on Samsung’s actions to cut inventory buildup
[Read more…] about With Demand Slack & Inventory Levels Building, Samsung Cuts ProcurementUEI Earns Wide National News Coverage for All the Wrong Reasons
Allegations of Conspiring With China’s Gov’t to Use Uyghurs in a Forced Labor Arrangement
In a rare show of bipartisanship, a group of U.S. Senators has sent a strongly worded letter to a leading consumer electronics industry remote control maker Universal Electronics, Inc. (UEI) launching a probe into the company’s hiring practices in China. Unique to UEI is that they own their own factories in China (most contract with existing China OEM factories) and a recent damning investigation by Reuters alleges the company is working with the Chinese government to utilize a widely persecuted Uyghur minority in a forced labor arrangement, a human rights violation. UEI has denied the accusation but so far has not provided data to back up their denial.
See more on the UEI labor situation in China
[Read more…] about UEI Earns Wide National News Coverage for All the Wrong ReasonsCEDIA Expo 2021: Should You Risk Your Health to Attend a ‘20% Expo’?
The Day After Losing 39 Exhibitors, Expo Loses Another 26
What a crazy couple of weeks it has been for exhibitors of CEDIA Expo 2021, and also for potential attendees who watched a slow-motion train wreck unfold right in front of their eyes. It was almost exactly two weeks ago – on August 10th – when Savant CEO Robert Madonna suddenly announced that Savant was pulling out of CEDIA, due to concerns over the surging infections from the Delta variant of COVID-19.
Little did we know then that this was the trickle before the flood…
See more on the saga of CEDIA Expo 2021
[Read more…] about CEDIA Expo 2021: Should You Risk Your Health to Attend a ‘20% Expo’?Crestron, the Biggest Booth in the Show, Withdraws from CEDIA Expo 2021
BREAKING NEWS
Crestron Electronics announced this morning that it has made “the difficult decision to fully cancel our presence” at the rapidly approaching CEDIA Expo 2021, scheduled to start in just about two weeks in Indianapolis, IN. Crestron joins a long list of exhibitors who have also decided to pull out of the event, almost all due to health and safety concerns from the dramatic increase in infections and hospitalizations as a result of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 Delta variant.
See more on Crestron pulling out of CEDIA Expo 2021
[Read more…] about Crestron, the Biggest Booth in the Show, Withdraws from CEDIA Expo 2021Sony Appears to Have Pulled Out of the CEDIA Expo 2021
BREAKING NEWS
I have been covering the rapidly unfolding events as more announcements come every day of companies choosing to withdraw from CEDIA Expo 2021 in the wake of the surging infections from the COVID-19 Delta variant. While several large exhibitors have already announced their decision to pull out of the annual event, there are many more who are thought to be caught somewhere along the path of the decision process – a tough path to walk in an environment that is extremely fluid and changing daily.
One of the top brands rumored to be exiting the show, but has not yet officially announced anything, is Sony. But now, there is a strong reason to believe that Sony has already exited the Expo.
See the evidence that suggests that Sony is out of the Expo…
[Read more…] about Sony Appears to Have Pulled Out of the CEDIA Expo 2021Samsung Says ‘Recent Rise’ of COVID, is Cause for Withdrawal from CEDIA Expo
BREAKING NEWS
The announcements are coming faster than I can get them written up, as I learned late Friday that Samsung has notified their dealers that they too have pulled out of the CEDIA Expo 2021. Pressure is building on other exhibitors to take a stand. A tipping point may be approaching…
See more on Samsung exiting CEDIA Expo…
[Read more…] about Samsung Says ‘Recent Rise’ of COVID, is Cause for Withdrawal from CEDIA ExpoSputtering Supply Chain Hit Again – Surge of COVID in Vietnam Closes Factories
Brands Like Apple, Samsung, Nike & Adidas Have Been Forced to Close
In a new hit to the supply chain, top brands report that they have been forced to close down factories in Vietnam as the country struggles with a COVID resurgence of surprising resiliency. Notable brand names like Samsung, Nike, Adidas, Apple, Coca-Cola have all at one time or another over the last 90-days been forced to close some or all of their factories as employees came down with the illness.