Billerica chip supplier Entegris cuts jobs

The layoffs include 33 employees in the Boston area

Semiconductor supplier Entegris cut 144 jobs as part of a cost-cutting initiative.

Semiconductor supplier Entegris cut 144 jobs, or about 1 percent of its workforce, as part of a cost-cutting effort amid shrinking global chip sales, the company said on Thursday.

Entegris, which makes specialty chemicals, filters, and other supplies needed for chip manufacturing, has seen some parts of its business slow amid a major downturn in the semiconductor industry. Sales of phones, computers, and other tech gear shot up early in the pandemic but have since declined.

In the first quarter, Entegris revenue jumped 42 percent from last year to $922 million, with the increase due to the company’s $6.5 billion acquisition of CMC Materials, completed in July. Including CMC’s business in 2022 first-quarter results on a pro forma basis, sales would have decreased by 4 percent.

The layoffs included 33 jobs in the Boston area, an Entegris spokeswoman said. Headquartered in Billerica, Entegris had 10,000 employees at the end of 2022.

“We’re sort of driving with one foot on the gas, one foot on the brake ... but we do want to make sure we’re continuing to invest for the long term,” chief financial officer Greg Graves said on a call with analysts on Thursday after he was asked about the cuts.

The first-quarter results were better than analysts expected, and shares of Entegris gained almost 20 percent on Thursday.

Tech companies around Boston have been cutting jobs since the Federal Reserve started raising interest rates and slowing the economy last year. Robotics maker Symbotic and Internet company Akamai announced layoffs earlier this month.