STMicroelectronics unveiled plans to retrain workers and deploy robots in its older chip manufacturing plants, avoiding closures as the European semiconductor giant navigates industry challenges. The announcement, made at a semiconductor conference in Sopot, Poland this month, signals how Europe's largest chipmaker is attempting to squeeze more economic life from decades-old facilities without resorting to the factory shutdowns that have plagued the continent's tech sector.
Over the next few years, STMicroelectronics anticipates deploying more than 100 humanoid robots across its manufacturing facilities. The first humanoid is deployed in ST's advanced packaging and test fab in Malta. These systems are intended to perform routine and physically demanding activities typically carried out in chip plants, including handling wafers and interacting with processing tools. The company's first humanoid robot designed for fab operations was demonstrated by head of manufacturing Thomas Morgenstern.
The robot deployment strategy sits alongside a broader restructuring effort. The company expects up to 2,800 people to leave the company globally on a voluntary basis over three years, on top of normal attrition. Rather than simply downsizing, however, STMicroelectronics plans to retrain workers for more specialized roles. Humanoid robots will take over repetitive and physically demanding tasks, allowing employees to transition to higher-skilled roles that are currently understaffed.
The economic maths matters here. Older semiconductor fabrication plants are barely competitive against newly built fabs in China in terms of costs, as the latest fabs in China are highly automated; at the same time, they cannot accommodate the latest manufacturing tools to get on par with peers in China; tearing down such facilities and constructing new ones is also problematic due to high costs, complex regulatory requirements, and negotiations with labor unions in Europe. Many older facilities are not eligible for subsidies under the European Chips Act because the plan primarily supports 'first-of-a-kind' projects rather than the modernization of existing production lines.
What STMicroelectronics has partnered to achieve is a form of targeted automation that avoids the enormous capital expenditure of rebuilding. STMicroelectronics has signed an agreement with Italian firm Oversonic Robotics to introduce RoBee, its custom cognitive humanoid robot, in the manufacturing processes across several ST plants across the world. RoBee is the only humanoid robot certified to work in both industrial and healthcare sectors; it is designed to operate autonomously in complex industrial environments safely using intelligence and adaptability.
The productivity gains from this model remain uncertain. One humanoid robot can replace manpower for three out of four shifts in a three or four-shift system, according to Morgenstern. Yet integrating over 100 cognitive robots into decades-old production lines presents genuine execution risks. Key questions remain about how complex and costly it is to integrate more than 100 humanoid robots into legacy lines, and how quickly retrained workers can reach productivity levels that support the broader restructuring plan executives have outlined.
For Australia, the broader context matters. European semiconductor makers have become increasingly important to global supply chains for specialised chips across defence, automotive and industrial applications. European chipmakers, including STMicro and rivals such as NXP, face mounting pressure from global competitors, particularly in China, where modern automated production lines are increasing efficiency. STMicroelectronics' approach represents a pragmatic middle path between full closure and the capital-intensive modernisation that governments in the US and Asia have subsidised heavily. Whether humanoid robots can bridge the cost and automation gap remains the central question.