Intel to build $33B chip factory in Germany #NewsGerman

Intel has reached a deal with Germany to invest $33 billion in a new semiconductor manufacturing plant. Yahoo Finance tech editor Dan Howley joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss Intel’s growth plans.

– Well, taking a look at Intel. It’s signed a mere $3.33 billion deal with Germany to build a chip manufacturing plant after the German government pledged to cover a third of the funding. Now, this move marks one of the biggest foreign investments in Germany according to economy minister, Robert Habeck. Now, Intel is also set to meet its growing chip demand with their plans to build a semiconductor assembly and test facility in Poland as well as a manufacturing plant in Israel.

Well, joining us now is Dan Howley to discuss Intel’s push to really diversify its production sources. Dan, what are you tracking?

AND HOWLEY: That’s right, Rachelle. We have these different opportunities that Intel seems to be jumping on, especially in Europe. This is all part of, as you said, this opportunity for the company to try to diverse itself, diversify itself. This is a larger push in the chip industry, though, to kind of push away from Asia kind of dominance, more towards Europe and the US’s relations with China have deteriorated over time. And so we’re seeing more companies come forward, more countries tie up with these countries, companies rather, to try to get plants built.

So in Germany, we have that $32.8 billion facility. It’s going to be two facilities actually that’s land that they purchased in 2022. Germany saying they’re going to put in $9.9 billion for the deal, and the first one is expected to open in four to five years. They also announced a facility in Poland that would be a $4.6 billion assembly and testing facility over there. And they say that those two plants, the Polish and the German plants would be able to kind of create a new kind of network of semiconductor manufacturing in Europe.

But it’s not just that, there’s also Ireland where the company also has a $7 billion investment in its existing facility. It’s expanding there. And then, oh yes, they’re also investing more in Israel. They already have a plant there as well as R&D. They have an agreement in principle, though, to build a new manufacturing plant. The deal is supposed to be valued at about $25 billion, and the company already has 12,000 workers there.

This is in addition to the plants that they are building in the US and Arizona as well as in Ohio. So clearly, Intel really pushing the envelope here as far as its ability to produce more plants, produce more chips, and this is all part of CEO Pat Gelsinger’s plans to push the company forward, become a leader again in the manufacturing as well as technology behind semiconductors and potentially be a third-party fabricator, a fabricator for third-party companies as well.

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