USA: Intel receives subsidies amounting to 8.5 billion dollars

Intel is regarded as the US savior in the development of chip production independent of the Far East. The USA has now paid the company a hefty sum of 8.5 billion US dollars in subsidies to enable it to set up new factories.

Intel plans four chip factories

With the “Chips & Science Act”, the US government has drawn its own personal lessons from the semiconductor crisis that was still raging a few months ago. The aim is to achieve greater independence from the chip production of other countries. To this end, the country’s own production of chip technology is to be set up. The highest subsidy amount from the pot of money to date has now been approved. The recipient of the payment is none other than Intel.

The company will receive a total of 20 billion US dollars from the US government to set up four chip factories. The funding sum is made up of loans amounting to 11 billion US dollars and subsidies of 8.5 billion US dollars. The scale of Intel’s construction plans becomes clear when you take a look at the company’s own investments. The chip manufacturer promises to invest 100 billion US dollars in construction over the next five years.

The four plants are to be built in Oregon, New Mexico, Ohio and Arizona. But here too, Intel can apparently rely on government support. The White House has announced that Intel will be able to deduct a quarter of its own expenditure from tax. Strictly speaking, this means that the company can look forward to government gifts of over 33 billion US dollars. This clearly shows how important the company is to US President Joe Biden and his administration.

Independence and jobs

There is not just a whiff of election campaigning in the USA at the moment. In fact, heated debates are already taking place. Joe Biden as the incumbent US President and Donald Trump as his challenger are as good as certain candidates. Accordingly, the gift of money to Intel is not really surprising. After all, the focus here is not just on independent chip production. Social aspects should not be ignored here either. After all, Intel is creating “30,000 well-paid jobs” in the regions where the factories are to be built, which are usually rather structurally weak, as US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo emphasizes.

According to Intel itself, this includes 10,000 jobs at the chip manufacturer and 20,000 jobs at the construction companies contracted. Intel also wants to create over 50,000 jobs for suppliers and other industries. Whether the subsidies will be paid out in full, however, depends on the success of the project. According to a report by Ars Technica, the company must first reach certain milestones. With each milestone, a new portion of the subsidy is to be transferred to the company. As things stand, the Biden administration and the chip manufacturer are assuming that the first payment will be made in 2024.