How Electronics Companies are Contributing to the COVID-19 Relief Effort
Micron, Samsung Electronics, and ON Semiconductor have all stepped in to provide support to their employees and communities that have been hit the hardest by COVID-19.
As the COVID-19 pandemic ravages communities worldwide, thousands of businesses big and small have stepped in to lend their support to the relief effort.
From straight-up financial donations to the repurposing of manufacturing facilities, the philanthropic efforts of these businesses are providing much-needed support to strained workers on the COVID-19 frontline, hard-hit communities, and employees worried about putting food on the table.
Addressing Current and Future Community Needs
Micron, Samsung Electronics, and ON Semiconductor have all announced their own COVID-19 initiatives.
Micron
On Wednesday, March 25, Micron announced that it will launch a new $10 million COVID-19 relief fund for worldwide economic-recovery programs.
This fund forms part of a wider $35 million initiative that will see the company increase employee gift matching and introduce a financial assistance scheme that will deliver financial relief to Micron employees through non-repayable grants.
Micron’s financial support will go towards funding global initiatives that are focused on economic recovery. Funding will help to support a range of initiatives and charities, food banks, online learning resources, and health facilities. This will help to address both the current and future needs of communities worldwide that have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, Micron will also begin to provide in-kind support to its small business suppliers and donate its facilities and supplies to the emergency services and frontline responders working round-the-clock to combat the global pandemic.
On top of this, Micron has introduced a 2-to-1 company match for all COVID-19 donations to its “Micron Gives” charitable initiative. The company also plans to donate much-needed resources to those who need them, including up to 300,000 protective masks that will be distributed to local health officials and its own manufacturing facilities that will be made available as additional capacity for overflow patients should the health system reach capacity and become overwhelmed.
Samsung's Strategy and Innovation Center headquartered in San Jose, California. Image credited to Samsung.
Samsung Electronics
Industry giant Samsung Electronics has also stepped in, donating $29 million worth of funds and goods to governments and communities that have also been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The South Korea tech giant has also supplied a huge quantity of face masks–33,000 of which went to Daegu, China, the epicenter of COVID-19– and is providing technology such as smartphones and air purifiers to patents and hospitals in need. It has also given tablets to educational institutions so that children can continue their learning at home.
ON Semiconductor
Finally, Fortune 500 semiconductor company ON Semiconductor donated 10,000 face masks in Phoenix, Arizona on March 26. This donation kicked off the city’s donation drive for personal protective equipment for emergency first responders, an initiative that aims to provide them with the supplies needed to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a press release, a spokesperson said that while governments, NGOs, and healthcare agencies respond to the COVID-19 crisis, it was decided that it was ON Semiconductor’s time to step up and help. In total, 8,500 N95 masks and 1,500 ActiveAir masks were donated.
Supporting Engineers in a Time of Crisis
Micron also announced how it is to introduce a one-time COVID-19 assistance payment for its global workforce. This assistance payment of $1,000 will be available to team members who earn less than $100,000 per year. All Micron employees, from admin staff to design engineers, are eligible for the payment, and the company estimates that 68% of its workforce will benefit.
For the hardest-hit employees, Micron is investing in an employee-supported fund that will pay out grants of up to $5,000. These grants will be based on need and assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Micron’s senior vice president of Human Resources, April Arnzen, spoke of the company’s concern about the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on Micron team members. She said, “Our Micron COVID-19 assistance payment aims to give our people, who are critical to the strength of our business, some financial relief."
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics has facilitated home-based working where possible, restricted business travel, and has established regional teams that are dedicated to providing employees with resources and updates on the latest information from health authorities.
