Boise-based Micron Technology will shut down its consumer-facing brand Crucial Technology early next year.
Crucial, which was founded in 1996, will cease all operations by the end of February, the company said in a news release. Crucial has operations on Commercial Ct. in Meridian. It is not clear how many people are employed by Crucial in Idaho, and the company didn’t immediately comment.
Micron said it “intends to reduce impact on team members due to this business decision through redeployment opportunities into existing open positions within the company,” but didn’t specify if all jobs would be absorbed or if the change would lead to layoffs in Idaho or elsewhere. Questions to the company spokesperson were not available by the deadline for this story.
The reason for the shift is huge demand for memory products used for artificial intelligence, the company said.
“The AI-driven growth in the data center has led to a surge in demand for memory and storage,” Micron EVP and Chief Business Officer Sumit Sadana wrote in a statement. “Micron has made the difficult decision to exit the Crucial consumer business in order to improve supply and support for our larger, strategic customers in faster-growing segments.”
A post about the shutdown of Crucial on the division’s Facebook page has more than 5,600 reactions, 1,400 shares, and 1,200 comments — many of them critical of Micron’s decision.
Micron launched Crucial in September 1996, selling random access memory directly to consumers. Its product line has expanded to storage and other products, and has been popular with gamers and other computer users.
Though Micron memory is used in scores of devices from servers to iPhones and more, Crucial is the company’s only consumer-facing brand. In a 1997 print ad in the Idaho Statesman, the company touted that “Micron Technology is offering you the chance to buy memory upgrades direct from the factory through its newest division, Crucial Technology.”
