Intel pushes back opening of Ohio plant to 2026
Intel's $20bn Ohio manufacturing facility is the latest US project to be held back by sluggish demand and red tape.
Intel is investing more than USD 20 billion to build two new fabs in Ohio and to establish a new epicentre for advanced chipmaking in the Midwest. The initial phase of the project is expected to create 3,000 with production originally expected to start in 2025.
However, the WSJ has just reported that the US chip giant now expects construction in Ohio to be delayed until late 2026 "amid market challenges and the slow rollout of US grant money".
This delay is obviously a setback for Intel, and the latest bump in the road for the US government's program to bolster the country's domestic chip production sector. Last month, Taiwanese chip maker TSMC said a shortage of specialist workers had forced it to delay the opening of its second factory in Arizona from 2025 to 2027 or 2028.
Intel is currently working on four expansion projects and three greenfield investments, covering everything from R&D to wafer production to advanced packaging operations. It is investing USD 20 billion to expand its Ocotillo campus in Arizona, USD 3.5 billion in its New Mexico operations and EUR 17 billion to build a leading-edge semiconductor fab mega-site in Magdeburg, Germany. There are also plans to establish a new R&D and design hub in France and to expand capacities in R&D, manufacturing and foundry services in Ireland, Italy, Poland and Spain.
