Samsung’s 8-inch foundry has set an exit date: completely shut down by the end of 2030

Abstract:

On November 3, according to Korean media The Elec,

Samsung Electronics has notified its 8-inch wafer foundry customers that it plans to completely terminate related production line operations before the end of 2030

Samsung’s 8-inch external foundry production capacity is concentrated in South Korea’s Jiheung Park. It has three original production lines, S6, S7, and S8, with a total monthly production capacity of approximately 250,000 pieces. S7 has planned to be shut down in the second half of 2026. By then, the monthly production capacity will drop to less than 200,000 pieces, and the overall operating rate will be about 70%.

三星晶圆代工负责人此前在内部简报中坦言，8英寸业务虽仍盈利，但“市场正在变成红海”，且“完全由价格驱动”。在资源分配上，三星的选择是将人力和设备投资集中于12英寸先进制程及高附加值存储业务。

The first to come under pressure is South Korea's Fabless company, which has long relied on Samsung's 8-inch production capacity. Industry news shows that many Korean IC design companies in image sensors, power management chips and other fields are urgently looking for alternative production capacity. However, alternatives are not abundant: South Korea's local DB HiTek and SK keyfoundry production capacity is close to full capacity and it is difficult to undertake additional production; switching to 12-inch advanced processes faces practical obstacles such as rising manufacturing costs and the need for existing products to be redesigned and verified.

From an industry perspective, the shrinkage of 8-inch production capacity is not unique to Samsung. TSMC has begun to reduce related production capacity since 2023. TrendForce data shows that the global total 8-inch production capacity in 2026 is expected to decrease by 2.4% year-on-year. However, the demand for power management and power devices in AI servers is still increasing the utilization rate of 8-inch devices. The reverse pull between supply and demand is reshaping the mature process foundry pattern.