Just to clarify: This factory is about halfway complete. Intel halted completing the Fab around 2 years ago. I wonder if any deals were made w.r.t tax breaks to entice Intel to finish the project.<p>EDIT:
Source: <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2088040/intel-puts-on-hold-fab-42-in-arizona-will-use-for-future-technology.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.pcworld.com/article/2088040/intel-puts-on-hold-fa...</a>
Intel has always fabbed its high-IP parts in the USA or strongly allied countries (Israel, Ireland). They will never put a fab in China because the Chinese will rip off all their IP. The fact that Intel has resumed construction of a half-completed facility in the same town where they make almost everything else is not really news.
I can't wait until every single company starts a PR campaign every single time they retool a factory or slightly expand production. "$1 billion investment, create or save 1,000 jobs!"<p>Whatever keeps you out of the Twitter crosshairs I guess.
I wonder if Intel considering it's third round of layouts in 18 months got as much coverage a couple months ago?<p>Probably indicative of how a lot of companies will operate. Lots of talk about new factories or what have you while really just continuing business as usual.<p>Gets me pretty worried about actually seeing wage growth during the Trump administration as a vague focus on building new factories and "keeping jobs here" won't drive wages up unless it's coupled with protections on labor groups and actual job creation leading to competition for labor...<p><a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/index.ssf/2016/11/intel_facing_more_layoffs_repo.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/index.ssf/2016/11/i...</a>
I visited their fab in Israel. Amazing place and they are Israel's top high tech employee.<p>This is highly technical, high R&D stuff. Only their fabs in the US and a few other places (Israel, Ireland) can do that. But, in Israel they get preferential tax treatment (because otherwise they will leave and go to Ireland or the US).<p>So I wonder what would have happened had Trump not been president, or alternatively, what tax breaks he promised.
I have been thinking that currently NAND fabs would be good, not to restore jobs but to restore the balance of trade. It is probably not a simple matter though.