(Reuters) -Chipmaker STMicroelectronics on Wednesday announced a $60 million investment for its plant in Tours, France, where it plans to develop a pilot line for advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology.

The Franco-Italian firm said it will develop the next generations of an advanced process at the plant. It has been moving older chipmaking lines away from Tours amid a major restructuring announced last October.

"This program is focused on advanced manufacturing infrastructure and brings redefined missions for some sites in France and Italy to support their long-term success," STMicro said in a statement.

STMicro, one of Europe's largest chipmakers, is carrying out a cost-cutting plan after a multi-year-long downturn hit its main markets, planning job cuts in plants such as Tours that have sparked opposition from unions and stakeholders.

The Italian and French governments own a combined 27.5% share in the chipmaker through a holding company.

The new technology, called Panel-Level Packaging (PLP), allows STMicro to manufacture chips on a large square panel, instead of small circular silicon wafers.

The company currently uses the technology for one customer at its plant in Muar, Malaysia, where it manufactures over five million chips a day, it said.

PLP cuts a number of manufacturing steps chipmakers typically make in Asia, where fabrication costs are lower, allowing them to be made in Europe due to economies of scale and greater automation.

The chipmaker expects the pilot line to be operational in the third quarter of 2026.