Western Digital Shuts Down Hard Drive Factory

Almost every PC you buy now has a solid state drive in it, and basically every device as well. With that the demand for mechanical hard drives has gone down especially when you consider the compact size and speed advantage of solid state drives. It has been reported that Western Digital will close its Hard Drive factory near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

wd

The factory is one of the company’s first, operating since 1973. Once shut down WD will only have two factories left in Thailand. With the release of their WD Black NVMe SSD they are trying to gain more share in the SSD market.

WD did provide the following comment:

In response to declining long-term demand for client HDDs, Western Digital has taken steps to rationalize its HDD manufacturing operations globally. The company will decommission its HDD manufacturing facility in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, by the end of calendar 2019. This transition will be executed in close collaboration with employees, customers, supply partners and other critical stakeholders.

The data technology industry is undergoing substantial change. This market transformation is driving increased adoption of SSDs and NAND flash in traditional HDD applications. The change has contributed to growth in SSD/NAND flash and declining long-term demand for client HDDs. Consequently, Western Digital plans to expand SSD manufacturing in Penang. The company is in the final stages of commissioning its second SSD facility in Penang, which will go into production in the coming months.

About Author