Technology

This is a bit further than sane. I think you've got the idea from Russian marauders stealing washing machines. They were just marauders.

No -- two different washing machine incidents.

There were some documented incidents of Russian soldiers in Ukraine looting washing machines, which was highlighted by the press.

There's a second issue that Russia was using secondhand chips:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-military-equipment-computer-chips-refrigerators/

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in a pair of congressional hearings this week told lawmakers that Russia has been using semiconductors from dishwashers and refrigerators for its military equipment. 

"Our approach was to deny Russia technology, technology that would cripple their ability to continue a military operation. And that is exactly what we are doing," Raimondi said on Wednesday. 

She said she has heard anecdotes from the Ukrainian prime minister that some of the Russian equipment left behind contains semiconductors from kitchen appliances because the defense industrial base is having a hard time producing more chips on its own and is facing export controls that limit its ability to import the technology from other countries. 

It's also apparently not just Russia that was doing this during the COVID-19 chip shortages:

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/washing-machines-raied-to-obtain-semiconductors

However, ASML CEO Peter Wennink described on an earning's call how some companies take desperate measures to get their hands on highly sought-after and mature microprocessors.

According to Wennink, several large industrial companies have resorted to ripping chips out of consumer washing machines for industrial use. Typical household washing machines can range from $400 to thousands of dollars each, so that is a relatively expensive way to obtain chips manufactured on a mature process node. However, it's more likely that these companies are buying used machines or devices earmarked to head to a recycling center. Companies could get the washing machines at a significant discount and still grab the chips in this scenario. 

"Technology-wise, market-wise, geography-wise, it's so widespread that we have significantly underestimated, let's say, the width of the demand," said Wennink yesterday during ASML's Q1 2022 earnings call. "And [I don't] think it is going to go away." 

Wennink referenced a "very large industrial company, [conglomerate]" when talking about washing machine chip raiding. "Now, you could say, that's an anecdote. But, to be honest, it happens everywhere," Wennink continued. "It is — like I said, it is 15, 20, 25-year old semiconductor technology that is now being used everywhere. It's got — it's all driven by IoT type applications."

My guess is that this probably isn't a case where companies are producing high-volume things. They're making some very expensive, low-volume things, and they're bottlenecked by one part that they can't get.