Toshiba Suspends NAND Production At 2 Plants

Toshiba has suspended NAND flash memory production at two plants for nine days due to weak demand, according to Reuters , which picked up the story from broadcaster NHK. The wire service said the company denied plans to shut down all operations at the two factories in Yokkaichi, in western Japan, and Oita, in southern Japan. The Yokkaichi factory is a joint venture with SanDisk (SNDK) . Earlier in the week, the company said it would speed up a planned restructuring to cut costs at its money-losing chip operations. The NHK report said Toshiba will halt production at the two plants from December 27 to January 4, its first shutdown since 2001. SanDisk shares, which soared Wednesday on rumors that Toshiba might make a bid for the company, then tumbled yesterday after the chatter faded, today is moving back higher: SNDK is up 59 cents, or 7.3%, to $8.67. (link)