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A woman walks across the snow covered street near the Texas state capitol Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in Austin, Texas. AP |
Samsung Electronics Co. has temporarily shut down its chip plant in Austin, Texas, due to power outage in the region following a snowstorm, according to U.S. news reports on Wednesday, sparking concerns of a production loss.
Samsung's chip plant was among major business facilities in Texas to halt operations due to the freeze, according to media reports.
A Samsung official said that Texas energy officials notified the company of the power shutoff and it has taken steps to minimize the damage. The chipmaker said it will resume production as soon as the electricity is back on, although it does not know when the power supply will be back to normal.
According to U.S. news reports, the winter storm caused blackouts in 18 states, affecting more than 5 million households.
Samsung, the world's largest memory chip maker and the No. 2 foundry firm, has reportedly been reviewing plans of building a new chip plant in Austin, Texas, to boost its presence in the semiconductor industry. (Yonhap)