UPDATE: DeWine confirms Intel plans for $20B investment, 3,000 jobs in Licking County

The project “will generate more than 20,000 jobs in the state, including 3,000 direct Intel jobs earning an average of $135,000 per year (plus benefits), 7,000 construction jobs over the course of the build, and tens of thousands of additional indirect and support jobs,” a statement released online from DeWine’s office said early Friday.

“@Intel plans to invest an initial $20 billion to build two state-of-the-art factories in Licking County by 2025. The factories will have Intel’s most advanced process technologies and will help reconfigure the global semiconductor supply chain,” DeWine tweeted earlier, before the statement’s release.

DeWine also tweeted: “I am happy to confirm that my administration has been working closely with @Intel to bring its most advanced semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the world to Ohio. This new #IntelOhio partnership will transform our state! #BuiltForThis http://intelinohio.com

EARLIER

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is expected Friday to make what his office said is a “historic economic development announcement for the state.”

The Columbus Dispatch has reported the announcement could be the details about Santa Clara, California-based Intel’s plan to build a $20 billion semiconductor plant in Licking County, which sits east of Columbus.

The governor’s office did not release details about the announcement that is taking place in Newark.

The Dispatch has reported that Intel plans to build two plants on 3,190 acres the city of New Albany is annexing from Jersey Twp. in western Licking County. The plant will employ 3,000 workers and is expected to generate thousands of additional jobs.

The land would be for an expansion of the New Albany International Business Park where tech giants Google, Amazon and Facebook have data centers, the Dispatch reported.

GOP members of the Ohio congressional delegation last Friday asked House and Senate leaders to fully fund a law meant to address a global shortage of semiconductor chips used in phones, cars and video games.

The letter sent Friday urges top Congressional leaders to fully fund the $52 billion CHIPS for America Act, allowing for stateside investment in semiconductor factories. Not only has the chip shortage disrupted the U.S. economy, it is creating a vulnerability in the country’s defense system since eight of every 10 chips are produced in Asia, the letter said.

“These products are vital to U.S. technology deployment and are critical to U.S. national security,” the letter said. “It is crucial that the United States leads in the research, development, and production of semiconductor technology.”

Separate federal legislation also under consideration would create a new tax credit for investment in semiconductor manufacturing facilities.

Chip shortages fueled by shutdowns during the pandemic have interrupted the production of new vehicles and electronic devices for more than a year.

“We are allowing ourselves to be held hostage by the imbalance of foreign chip production,” said GOP U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson, whose central Ohio district encompasses the proposed chip factory site. “It’s past time to bolster this production here at home.”

Friday’s letter piggybacked on a similar request in November made to Ohio Congressional members by JobsOhio, the state’s privatized economic development office, Balderson said.

“Ohio has a unique opportunity to directly benefit from this legislative action by attracting generational investments from companies seeking to augment the domestic manufacturing of semiconductors,” that November letter said.

Both JobsOhio and Balderson’s office declined to comment on the Intel report.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has urged the U.S. to focus its semiconductor subsidies on American companies. The company announced plans last year to spend $20 billion for two new factories in Arizona, but also said last month it will invest $7.1 billion to expand its manufacturing operation in Malaysia, home to roughly 10% of the company’s global workforce. A company spokesperson declined to comment Friday.

The U.S. share of the worldwide chip manufacturing market has declined from 37% in 1990 to 12% today, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, a trade group.

Several chipmakers last year signaled an interest in expanding their American operations if the U.S. government is able to make it easier to build chip plants.

Chipmakers now are diversifying their manufacturing sites in response to the shortages. Samsung said in November it plans to build a $17 billion factory outside of Austin, Texas.

Micron Technology, based in Boise, Idaho, said it will invest $150 billion globally over the next decade in developing its line of memory chips, with a potential U.S. manufacturing expansion if tax credits can help make up for the higher costs of American manufacturing.

Industry watchers expect the demand for chips to grow even when the current shortages end because more electronics will require them.