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Intel's billions 'quietly' keeping jobs in Silicon Forest
Oregon gets $1.5 billion of an investment in new fabricating process
Intel Corp.’s $7 billion national investment in its new 32 nanometer wafer production facilities could mean about 1,500 contracting jobs for the company’s Oregon plants, and preservation of other high-paying jobs that might have been lost to the sinking economy.
Intel officials said Tuesday afternoon at Portland State University that Oregon will get $1.5 billion from the investment to boost its microchip and wafer fabrication plants. That’s on top of $1 billion the company has been “quietly” investing in its Silicon Forest facilities during the past year.
“We’re building on money that we’ve already invested,” said Bill MacKenzie, Intel Oregon communications manager.
Paul Otellini, Intel president and chief executive officer, announced the investment Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C., that means developing technology used to build faster, smaller microchips that consume less energy. Intel Corp. plans to invest $7 billion during the next two years in advanced manufacturing facilities for its 32 nanometer technology in Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico.
It’s the largest investment by the company for a new manufacturing process, Otellini said.
“These manufacturing facilities will produce the most advanced computing technology in the world,” he said. “The capabilities of our 32nm factories are truly extraordinary, and the chips they produce will become the basic building blocks of the digital world, generating economic returns far beyond our industry.”
Besides Oregon’s facilities, Intel fabrication plants in New Mexico will get $1.5 billion and plants in Arizona will get $3 billion. The Arizona project involves combining two fabrication labs into a “megalab” to produce the 32nm wafers, MacKenzie said.
Intel officials told reporters and others packed into the lobby of PSU’s Northwest Center for Engineering, Science and Technology that the money could provide about 1,500 contract jobs for technicians and workers who will reconfigure Intel factories. It also preserves other high-paying jobs that might have been lost to the sinking economy. Intel says its investment will support a total of 7,000 jobs in all three states.
“When you think about it, we’re preserving high-wage, high-tech jobs at a time when times are tough,” MacKenzie said.
Intel is Oregon’s largest private employer, with about 15,000 workers mostly on Washington County’s Silicon Forest campuses. The company announced layoffs last month that would hit about 1,000 positions at the Fab 20 plant in the Tanasbourne area.
That facility will be closed at the end of September. MacKenzie said some of the facility’s employees could find positions at other Intel plants at Ronler Acres or Aloha.
Intel said the Oregon investment will mean new process technology equipment and facility upgrades at its D1C and D1D fabs on the Ronler Acre Campus in Hillsboro and at its Aloha Campus. The investment – which has already begun – will continue into the first half of 2010.
The technology used in Intel’s manufacturing process builds chip circuitry 32nm (32/billionth of a meter or about 1/millionth of an inch) across — incredibly small, atomic level structures. The first Intel processors to be built using this technology are code-named “Westmere” and will be used in desktop and mobile computer systems.
