The storage industry continues to slump! Western Digital announces production reduction of NAND flash memory for the first time

According to Korean media Business Korea, Western Digital stated in its fourth-quarter performance conference call in 2022 that in fiscal year 2023, the total annual equipment investment will reach 2.3 billion US dollars. This figure is down 14.8% from the $2.7 billion disclosed in the third-quarter earnings call in October 2022. Compared with the US$3.2 billion announced in August 2022, this is a decrease of 28.12%.

In addition, Western Digital said that it will reduce the production of NAND flash memory wafers to 30% of the current level, which is the first time that Western Digital has announced a reduction in production.

It is reported that Western Digital has a 12.6% share in the global NAND flash memory market, ranking fourth after Samsung Electronics, Kioxia and SK Hynix. In addition to Western Digital, major memory makers such as SK Hynix, Micron and Kioxia have also cut production and investment.