TOKYO -- Japan's Renesas Electronics halted production at one of its main plants in Hitachinaka, northeast of Tokyo, after a fire broke out, the chipmaker said late Friday.
The fire damaged equipment used to make advanced semiconductor wafers with a diameter of 300 millimeters. If the plant remains shut down for a long time, supplies of automotive chips could be squeezed as the plant is the company's main facility for the manufacture of such chips.
Renesas began assessing the damage Saturday morning. The company has set up an emergency committee to address the issue.
