Intel Plans to Spend $20 Billion on New Chip Factory in the EU

Tsing

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Intel is planning to invest $20 billion toward a new chip factory in the EU to boost semiconductor production and expand its manufacturing capabilities beyond the U.S., Ireland, Israel, and China. According to the latest report from the Financial Times, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger recently met up with French president Emmanuel Macron and Italian prime minister Mario Draghi to discuss the global chip shortage and gather support for the project, which may end up being spread across several EU member states depending on whichever offers the most favorable ecosystem, locations, and monetary benefit for Intel. Intel aims to produce 20 percent of the world’s semiconductors through its European fabs by 2030.



Great meeting between our Intel CEO, Pat Gelsinger, and French President Emmanuel Macron. Both are committed to rebalance the semiconductor manufacturing landscape to make...
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I dont get why Intel shouldnt have plants all over the world, As should all major fabs.
AMD should have Fabs all over too. This would be in the best interest of most nations.
Spread out this stuff.
 
Auer said:
I dont get why Intel shouldnt have plants all over the world, As should all major fabs.
AMD should have Fabs all over too. This would be in the best interest of most nations.
Spread out this stuff.
Click to expand...

I agree and disagree. Agree for production resiliency. Disagree because of rampant ip and design theft.
 
Grimlakin said:
Disagree because of rampant ip and design theft.
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That is the cost of doing business in China though. If you don't put a plant there with government oversight, or don't contract to get your products manufactured there by third party "domestic" companies -- either avenue leads to access your IP -- then you don't get to sell your products there. I"m sure it also happens in other places, but China is the only place I know of that has institutionalized it.

Most companies figure that by the time their IP gets ripped off and they end competing against themselves, they will be another generation or two ahead and just need to keep ahead - and that price is worth access to one of the largest, least expensive, and most capable manufacturing bases in the world (willing to drive their labor into the ground and pollute their land and pillage their resources without too much care -- in the name of economic progress) and product access to the largest population base in one of the hottest economies in the world.

Granted, you can have geographical diversity ~and~ avoid China. You just leave out a very large market (about 1/5 of the world) and lose out on a very capable, inexpensive, and diverse manufacturing-friendly environment - but depending on what you're peddling, that could either be a very big deal, or who cares because you weren't going to get in and make waves there anyway.

I keep thinking about when Apple was going to make the Trash Can Mac Pros in Texas... and they got hung up on multiple fronts. One issue was they couldn't get the correct screws made. The US (and other places) has lost a lot of manufacturing capability over the years. Now, Apple could also have made a screw factory as well, but that's a decision on how vertically integrated you want your manufacturing process to be. For some things, that makes sense - for others, like this particular example, you would need so few screws compared to the cost of setting up a manufacturing process just for it, that ... yeah... And then there was labor - in China, you pick a random applicant for a tech production off the street, they probably have worked at Foxconn or some other place before, and have experience in the sector. In the US - they probably worked at McDonalds or Costco, and very few people still have any manufacturing experience.

https://www.cultofmac.com/734615/mac-pro-factory-in-texas-exposes-weakness-of-us-manufacturing/
 
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Nice write up and I agree that needs to be addressed.
 
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