The US semiconductor company Micron Technology will receive up to $6.14 billion from the government to build two chip factories in the United States. This was announced today by the White House. The deal is to help fund factories in the states of New York and Idaho. The money will be paid under the Chip and Science Act of 2022, which aims to boost domestic chip production and reduce dependence on supplies from China and Taiwan.
A $100 Billion Investment
The Commerce Department said Micron plans to invest about $100 billion in New York state and create 13,500 jobs there. The money from the state will support the construction of a manufacturing plant in Clay and will also help fund the construction of a plant in Boise, Idaho, where Micron plans to invest up to USD 25 billion. A research and development centre and 6,500 jobs will also be created there.
“Micron’s total investment will be the largest private investment in New York and Idaho to date. It will create more than 70,000 jobs, including 20,000 direct jobs in construction and manufacturing and tens of thousands of indirect jobs,” the White House said. Indirect jobs are those that are not created at the plant but are related to the plant’s operations.
The Impact of Government Subsidies
The 2022 Act provides $52.7 billion to support semiconductor manufacturing and research. Semiconductors were invented in the United States, but the country currently accounts for only 10 percent of global chip production and zero percent of the production of the most advanced ones, Reuters reported.
The US government has already announced a number of subsidies.Earlier this month, South Korea’s Samsung was awarded $6.4 billion to produce high-tech chips in Texas. Taiwan’s TSMC has committed to build a factory in Arizona, to receive up to $6.6 billion. Then, in late March, US company Intel received a total of $20 billion in aid and subsidies to increase semiconductor production. Among other things, it plans to expand its plants in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico and Oregon.
Source: Czech Press Office
