Yesterday, Intel announced plans to expand chip production across Europe, with a total value of up to 80 billion euros (about 88 billion dollars). This is said to be a move to revive the global semiconductor industry in general, which is suffering from a serious chip shortage, and also for Intel to compete with other semiconductor manufacturers in particular.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said the $88 billion will be invested along the entire semiconductor industry supply chain, with disbursement expected within a decade. That means Intel will invest in both the semiconductor manufacturing plant and the labs, research and design.
“Why do we have to do this? Because the world has a huge demand for semiconductors and microprocessors,” said Intel CEO.
Demand for processor chips has increased significantly as the global economy begins to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the supply chain could not keep up, due to various problems. In particular, Europe and the US are heavily dependent on semiconductor manufacturers in Asia, such as Samsung or TSMC.
In the first phase of this massive plan, Intel will build a €17 billion semiconductor manufacturing plant, in Magdeburg, Germany. This giant factory will be able to go into operation in 2027, creating 3,000 high-tech jobs.
Following that, Intel will invest 12 billion euros to expand its manufacturing operations in Ireland. Intel’s Leixlip, Ireland plant will double in size and adopt new semiconductor production lines.
In addition, Intel will also expand and build new laboratories, research, chip design and auxiliary production facilities in France, Poland, Italy and Spain. This is considered a plan to completely change the face of Intel.
Reference: AP News