MALTA, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Leading semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries is preparing to lay off about 5.3% of its global workforce, despite the company citing record earnings in early November. The layoffs are not concentrated in any one geographic area, and according to a GlobalFoundries corporate communications lead, will have a significant impact on the Capital Region.

Around 220 people will be cut from the Fab 8 plant in Malta, the company executive said in an emailed statement. The layoffs are slated to happen before the end of the year.

The job cuts will be primarily in non-manufacturing positions, and will include positions at the executive level, according to GlobalFoundries’ CEO Tom Caulfield. A spokesperson said the company is taking a proactive approach to contain costs because of the current economic environment.

“Based on the current macroeconomic environment, we are taking a very disciplined, proactive approach to contain costs and like many in our industry and across the technology sector, we too, are initiating a hiring freeze and taking a set of focused actions to selectively reduce our workforce,” the November 2022 statement read.

GlobalFoundries was founded in 2009, as a spin-off of AMD. AMD gave up its ownership stake three years later, selling GlobalFoundries to Abu Dhabi-based technology investment firm Advanced Technology Investment Company. Intel considered an acquisition of the tech company in 2021, but no such action was taken. The company moved its corporate headquarters to Malta in late April 2021.