onsemi Abandons $2 Billion Silicon Carbide Expansion in Czech Republic
Key Facts
onsemi and the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade announced on November 6, 2026, that they had agreed not to proceed with an expansion of integrated silicon carbide production at the company’s existing facility in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm. The project was first announced in June 2024 as part of a multiyear plan to invest in advanced power semiconductor production. The company said the decision reflects developments in the silicon carbide market and the project’s economics since the original announcement. It added that ending this specific project does not reflect its assessment of the investment environment in the Czech Republic. It confirmed that current manufacturing operations in Rožnov were unaffected by the decision.
The original announcement envisaged a multiyear investment of up to $2 billion at the existing site to establish integrated silicon carbide production. That figure is the maximum planned investment, not the value of the existing plant’s assets or the cost of closing it. The agreement’s wording indicates that the decision concerns the proposed expansion, while the Rožnov facility and its current operations remain outside its scope. onsemi said the silicon and silicon carbide manufacturing capabilities at the site would continue operating as part of the company’s global manufacturing network. The company did not provide an estimate of the decision’s financial impact or of any change in future production capacity resulting from the project not proceeding.
The company linked its decision to changing conditions in the silicon carbide market and to the project’s economics compared with those prevailing when it was announced in June 2024. It said these factors had evolved since the original announcement, without specifying in its statement the extent of changes in demand, costs or expected returns. It also stressed that the decision does not represent a negative assessment of the investment environment in the Czech Republic. The clarification comes as the expansion that would have added integrated production at the Rožnov site is canceled, while existing capabilities continue manufacturing. The company did not announce an alternative to the canceled project or a timetable for other specific investments in the region.
The Rožnov plant was producing 10 million chips a day before the expansion plan was announced, according to information the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade cited from a government office statement in June 2024. The figure puts the current decision in the context of a facility that was already operating before the new investment was proposed. In November 2025, the European Commission approved a Czech support measure for the project worth 450 million euros, equivalent to about 12 billion Czech koruna, according to the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition. The Commission’s approval concerned public support earmarked for the project. The office said at the time that disbursement of the grant also required Czech government approval.
Looking beyond the decision, onsemi said it expects to continue investing and hiring at its sites in Rožnov and Brno, supporting growth opportunities in the automotive, industrial, AI data center and emerging application sectors. The company did not specify the value of those investments, the number of jobs or their timing. Industry and Trade Minister Karel Havlíček said current production in Rožnov would continue unchanged and that the company was planning additional investments in Rožnov and Brno. The company also confirmed that its decision not to proceed with the expansion does not change its commitment to its operations and employees or to future investment in the region. Practical details of these plans, including specific projects, will depend on subsequent announcements from the company and the ministry.